tihvaxy  of  t:he  t:heolo;gicd  ^tminavy 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 


•d^D- 


PRESENTED  BY 


John  Stuart  Conning,  D.D, 

BM  535  .J23  1873 
Jaeger,  Abraham. 
Mind  and  heart  in  religion 


||}tiri  auri  ifeari  in^eIi0i0H* 


JUDAISM  AND  CHRISTIANITY 


A   HEART'-^    EXPERIENCE 


A  POPULAR    RESEARCH    INTO    THE    TRUE    RELIGION 
OF  THE  BIBLE. 


ABRAHAM    JAEGER. 


Published  for  the  Author  by  Goodspeed's  Publishing  House. 

NEW  YORK.  CHICAGO. 

NEW  ORLEANS. 

1873. 


iv  OPINIONS. 

Chicago,  November  4th,  1872. 
"  Rev.  Mr.  Jaeger, 

Dear  Ero  :— I  have  read  the  first  seventy-six  pages  of  your 
book  on  '  Mind  and  Heart  in  Religion,'  with  the  deepest  interest,  and  I  may 
truly  say  that  I  was  fascinated  and  thrilled  by  its  rapid  unfolding  of  your  ex- 
perience as  a  Jew,  and  your  saving  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ.  I  should  like  to 
see  the  work  in  every  house  in  America,  and  to  hear  that  everybody  has  read  it." 
I  am  Yours  Truly,  E.  J.  GOODSPEED,        . 

Pastor  and  Baptist  Church,  Chicago. 

"•  After  reading  in  manuscript  and  in  proof  the  book  '  Mind  and  Heart  in  Re- 
ligion,' by  Rev.  A.  Jaeger,  late  Rabbi  of  the  Jewish  Congregation  of  Mobile.  I 
cheerfully  express  my  opinion  that  it  is  a  book  which  Christians  must  hail  with 
gratification.  It  is  not  only  a  remarkably  able  production,  indicating  scholarship 
of  rare  excellence,  and  defending  the  cause  of  the  truth  with  clearness  of  thought 
and  keenness  of  argument,  but  with  his  glowing  zeal,  and  his  originality  of  expres- 
sion, Mr.  Jaeger  has  made  it  a  work  such  as  is  very  seldom,  and  in  some  respects 
never,  offered  to  the  community.  It  is  my  hope  and  belief  that  it  is  destined  to 
do  great  good.  It  will  be  a  refreshment  to  every  Christian  heart.  It  is  adapted 
to  awaken  slumbering  souls,  to  stir  up  the  indifferent,  and  to  pierce  the  heart  of 
every  reader  as  with  those  arrows  of  truth  which  heal  while  they  wound.  It  moves 
and  convinces.  I  have  read  it  again  and  again,  and  every  time  with  increased 
enjoyment."  J.   A.   SMITH, 

Editor  of  the  Standard. 

"  I  have  read  more  than  200  pag-^s  in  manuscript  and  about  100  pages  in  print,  of 
the  book  of  Rabbi  Jaeger  referred  to  above  by  Rev.  Dr.  Smith.  I  fully  agree  with 
Dr.  Smith  in  the  commendation  given  by  him.  I  deem  it  a  book  of  rare  meiit^ 
adapted  to  do  important  service  in  honor  of  Christ  and  his  truth.  I  wish  it 
could  be  placed  universally  in  our  families.  It  is  a  fresh  view  of  the  claims  of 
Christ  and  his  blessed  gospel."  R.  E.  PATTISON, 

Prof.  Bap.  Union  Seminary. 

"  We  have  examined  the  work  and  fully  concur  in  the  above  commendation  of 
Dr.  Pattison,  and  in  th-e  hope  that  it  may  obtain  a  wide  circulation." 
A.  N.   ARNOLD,  E.  C.  MITCHELL, 

Prof.  Bap.  Union  Theo.  Sem.  Prof.  Bap.  Union  Theo.  Sem. 

W.  \^r.  EVERTS,  G.  ^Ar.  NQRTHRUP, 

Pastor  ist  Bap.  Churcli.  Pres.  B.  U.  T.  Sem. 

'■'■  I  fully  concur  in  the  above,  and  cordially  commend  the  work,  and  Mr.  Jaeger, 

personally,  to  the  confidence  of  Christian  men." 

^  ^  J,  B.  THOMAS, 

Pastor  Mich.  Ave.  Bap.  Church. 

"  So  far  as  I  have  read  I  cordially  approve."  ,,„„ 

C.   D.   HELMER, 
Pastor  Union  Park  Cong.  Churchy 

"  1  cheerfully  endorse  the  above."  S.   McCHESNEY,         _ 

Pastor  Trinity  M.  E.  Church,  Chicago. 

DR.   DA-NDY, 

Presiding  Elder  M.  E.  Church,  Chicago  District. 


PREFACE. 


In  this  book  I  venture  ^to  place  before  the  pubb'c,  not 
the  result  of  any  theological  studies  or  scientific  investi- 
gations, but  my  individual  view  of  Judaism  and  Chris- 
tianity, as  the  result  of  the  observations  of  my  own  heart, 
guided  by  the  principles  of  Scripture.  My  object  is  not 
polemic  but  apologetic.  Since  the  Twentieth  of  August, 
1872,  when  I  wrote  the  letter  which  forms  the  introduc- 
tory of  this  book,  I  have,  in  the  midst  of  manifold  trials 
and  interruptions,  tried  to  express  my  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings about  religion  as  well  as  I  could  in  a  language  foreign 
to  me,  and  in  which  I  am  not  in  the  habit  of  writing.  I 
had  neither  the  time  nor  the  opportunity  to  make  any 
scientific  investigations,  and  have  intentionally  avoided 
to  bring  such  subjects  into  discussion  which  might  render 
the  book  unintelligible  to  the  common  reader.  Every 
man  with  common  sense  should  be  able  to  judge  in  a  cause 
which  concerns  every  single  indi-vidual,  and  which  is  of 
the  very  highest  importance  to  his  welfare  and  happiness. 
My  request  to  every  reader  is  :  not  to  critisize  or  judge 


VI  PREFACE. 

single  chapters  or  passages,  but  to  take  into  account  the 
entire  scope  of  the  book  ;  examine,  read  carefully  and 
think  before  you  judge. 

I  must  yet  guard  myself  against  a  misunderstanding, 
as  if  I  had  any  intention  to  write  against  the  people  to 
which  I  belong,  and  of  which  I  am  proud.  This  book 
has  nothing  to  do  with  men,  but  with  their  religion.  I 
fully  appreciate  the  character  of  my  pe'ople  as  men.  I 
love  my  people,  while  I  see  their  religious  error. 

At  this  day  I  am  the  reproach  of  my  brethren,  and  must 
therefore  expect  that  my  words  will  be  an  offense  to  them. 
But  as  there  is  a  sure  promise  that  they  will  one  day  find 
their  hope,  and  will  glory  in  the  One  whom  they  despise 
now,  so  I  have  the  sure  hope  that  they  will  some  day  read 
my  words  and  bless  the  writer. 

Chicago,  January,  1873.  A.  J. 


CONTENTS.  VIU 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

An  open  letter  to  Rev.  Dr.  Isaac  M.  Wise,  .        .         13 

Chapter  I— Religion, 21 

"      II — The  Jewish  Reform, 27 

"     III — The  Heart's  Struggle, 34 

"     IV— The  Bible, 41 

V — The  Wandering  Jew,   .     • 45 

"     VI — The  New  Testament,       .        .        ,  .52 

"     VII — Human  Depravity, 65 

"      VIII — Judaism, 78 

"      IX — The  Rabbinical  Law,  ....  102 

"      X — Cause  and  Error  of  the  Reform,    .        ,        .       133 

"      XI — Trinity, 152 

*'      XII — Christ,    . 171 

•'      XIII — The  Messiah  of  the  Bible,     .         .        .  229 

XIV — The  Divine  Redeemer,        ....       261 

"     XV — The  Biblical  Atonement,         .        .        .  286 


||w  mi  %mi  te  |(#i(r«^ 


OR, 


JUDAISM  AND  CHRISTIANITY. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


AN 

OPEN    LETTER   TO  REV.  DR.  ISAAC   M.  WISE,. 

Editor  of  "  The  Israelite,"  Cincinnati,  O. 


Dear  Sir  : 

Your  attack  and  challenge  in  your  "  Israelite  ''' 
of  July  1 2th,  coming  to  my  notice,  have  made  it  neces- 
sary for  me  to  address  you  in  the  following  chapters,  en- 
tering into  the  subject  at  more  length  than  I  at  first 
proposed. 

It  is  very   unpleasant  for  me   to    have    controversies 

with  you,  as  you  were   my  friend  once,  and  I  am  yours 

yet,  and  believe  I  ever  shall  be.     It  is  not  my  object  to 

defend  myself  personally,  or  to  blame  you  or  any  of  my 

2 


14  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  *, 

people  for  their  attacks  upon  me.  Such  attacks  I  ex- 
pected, and  can  blame  no  one' on  account  of  them.  I 
can  easily  place  myself  in  your  position,  and  I  know 
that  you  must  consider  it  your  duty  to  say  all  manner  of 
€vil  against  me.  A  year  ago  I  hated  and  despised  no- 
body so  much  as  a  converted  Jew.  I  could  never  be- 
lieve Ife  was  anything  but  a  base  hypocrite,  for  I  then 
thought  as  you  do  now. 

If,  in  reply  to  your  challenge,  I  write  the  following 
few  chapters,  it  is  only  in  view  of  my  duty  to  the  religion 
I  have  embraced  of  my  own  free  will.  Perhaps  I  shall 
convince  you  that  a  converted  Jew,  who  once  followed 
the  flag  of  the  so-called  Rationalists  must  not  necessa- 
rily be  a  base  hypocrite,  as  you  presume.  But,  for  the 
sake  of  the  truth,  let  me  correct  some  mistakes  you  made 
in  your  "  Israelite  "  of  July  12th. 

You  say  that  I  never  was  a  Rabbi  and  never  was  con- 
sidered so  by  anybody.  But,  my  dear  sir,  I  actually  oc- 
cupied the  rabbinical  office  in  Selma  and  in  Mobile ; 
and  when  the  congregation  advertised  a  service  in  the 
synagogue  they  always  remarked,  "  Rev.  A.  Jaeger, 
Rabbi,"  -or  Minister.  I  also  have  the  papers  of  election 
from  the  congregation.  You  also  say,  that  you  only  ad- 
-vised  and  recommended  me  to  teach  and  occasionally  to 
preach.  Why,  Doctor,  you  know  that  we  never  thought 
of  my  being  a  teacher,  and  that  in  Selma  I  acted  as  min- 
ister only,  as  the  congregation  there  had  no  school,  and 
I  never  taught  there  one  minute. 

You  know  that  for  many  centuries  the  Jews  have  had 
no  ordination,  but  the  testimony  of  Rabbis  to  a  man's 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY,  I5 

learning  and  the  election  of  a  congregation  make  him  a 
Rabbi.  Well,  in  your  "  Israelite  "  and  "  Deborah  "  you 
often  gave  assurance  of  my  "profound  rabbinical  learn- 
ang."  Am  I  now  less  learned  because  I  confess  Chris- 
tianity? 

Between  you  and  me.  Dr.  Wise,  do  you,  although  one 
<o{  the  most  influential  Rabbis  in  this  country,  affirm 
that  you  know  more  of  the  rabbinical  lore  than  I  do  ? 
If  you  say  so  I  shall  have  to  believe  you  ;  but  look  around 
you  in  this  country,  where  men  who  do  not  even  under- 
stand the  Pentateuch  in  the  original  language  assume  the 
title  of  "  Rabbi,"  where  you  consider  many  as  such,  well 
knowing  that  they  could  profit  very  much  by  going  to 
■school  to  ni-e  for  rabbinical  instruction.  And  you  say 
''''Jaeger  was  not  a  Rabbi".?  However,  you  say  that  I 
hold  no  papers  to  this  effect.  My  dear  sir,  I  do  hold 
many  a  paper  to  this  very  effect.  I  shall  only  copy  one 
here,  which  ought  to  be  sufficient  for  you.  I  have  a 
paper  in  my  hands  which  reads  as  follows : 

"The  undersigned  herewith  testifies,  that  Rev.  A, 
Jaeger  is  known  to  him  as  an  excellent  Talmudist  and 
Hebraist,  fully  competent  to  preach  our  sacred  reli- 
gion, and  to  discharge  the  rabbinical  duties  to  the  glory 
of  God  and  the  honor  of  his  worshipers  in  light  and  in 
truth.  Isaac  M,  Wise, 

"Cincinnati,  Sep.,  1870." 

Well,  my  friend,  is  not  that  a  sufficient  paper  for  you, 
or  any  of  my  Jewish  friends  ?  I  have,  besides,  a  letter 
in  my  possession,  written  by  you  to  a  gentleman  in 
Selma,  in  which,  speaking  of  me  as  "your  friend,  whom 


l6  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

you  esteem  highly,"  you  say,  "  As  far  as  rabbinical 
learning,  ability  and  character  are  concerned,  he  is 
second  to  none.'''' 

In  your  "Deborah  "  of  June  23,  1871,  you  say,  "Die 
Wahl  des  Herrn  Jaeger  als  Rabbiner  der  Gemeinde  zu 
Mobile,  was  uns  erst  jetzt  augezeigt  wurde,  ist  fuer  die 
Gemeinde  als  eine  bedeutende  Errungenschaft  zu  be- 
trachten,  denn  Herr  Jaeger  ist  ein  ernster  und  gelehrter 
Mann  und  ein  denkender  heller  Kopf.  Wir  gratuliren  der 
Gemeinde."  That  means,  in  English,  "  The  election  of 
Mr.  Jaeger  as  RABBI  of  the  congregation  at  Mobile,  of 
which  fact  we  had  no  notice  until  now,  is  to  be  consid- 
ered an  important  acquisition  for  the  congregation,  for 
Mr.  Jaeger  is  an  earnest  and  learned  man,  with  a  thinking, 
clear  head.     We  congratulate  the  congregation." 

I  can  cite  many  similar  passages  of  your  own  "  Israel- 
ite "  and  "  Deborah,"  in  which  you  speak  of  me  as  a 
Rabbi,  and  give  assurances  of  my  learning.  But  I  pre- 
sume that  what  I  have  cited  is  sufficient.  And  your  pa- 
pers are  not  the  only  ones  which  spoke  favorably  of  me. 
I  never  courted  any  publicity  or  puffing  of  papers, 
nor  did  I  even  anticipate  that  you  were  to  pay  me  such 
compliments  in  your  papers  as  you  did.  But  is  it  not  as- 
tonishing when  you  say,  now,  that  I  never  was  a  Rabbi,  or 
considered  so  by  anybody.^  Concerning  myself,  I  care 
nothing  about  what  you  call  me,  and  have  not  the  least 
ambition  to  be  considered  a  learned  man.  As  your  friend, 
I  am  even  sorry  that  I  am  obliged  to  expose  your  contra- 
dictions, but  you  compelled  me  to  do  it.  Nevertheless, 
you   may   rest  assured  that  you  have  not  a  more  sincere 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  17 

friend  on  this  earth  than  I  am  to  you.  As  I  said,  I  can 
very  easily  believe  that  you  only  mean  to  do  your  duty. 

Now,  it  seems  that  a  man  can  change  his  mind.  You 
prove  it  by  your  different  statements  concerning  me. 
Why  cannot  you  believe,  then,  that  I  have  changed  my 
mind  about  Christianity,  as  thousands  have  done  before 
me  since  the  days  of  Saul  of  Tarsus  ? 

Your  enemies  are  trying  to  use  the  fact  of  my  conver- 
sion to  your  disadvantage,  upon  the  idea  that  you  are  the 
only  one  who  recommended  me.  But  you  may  tell  them 
that  I  have  papers  of  Rabbis  belonging  to  every  party  and 
rite  (Minhag)  of  the  different  shades  of  reform,  as  well  as 
of  orthodoxy.  Every  truly  intelligent  Jew  who  knew  me 
never  doubted  my  rabbinical  learning,  ability  and  char- 
acter. Should  your  enemies  not  cease  to  attack  you  on 
account  of  my  conversion,  I  shall  have  to  publish  my 
letters  of  recommendation  from  their  party,  in  order  to 
defend  you. 

Do  not  feel  embarrassed  by  the  matter.  This  Jaeger 
was  considered  an  honest,  upright,  sincere  and  good- 
hearted  Jew,  of  firm  character,  by  all  who  knew  him. 
No  man  could  ever  suspect  me  of  such  base  hypocrisy 
as  to  sell  my  religion.  Nor  has  this  Jaeger  even  the 
ability  to  play  the  masked  man  if  he  wanted  to. 

You  say  that  I  sold  my  birthright  because  I  could  not 
make  my  living  among  the  Jews,  and  had  some  to  sup- 
port whom,  you  say,  you  do  not  wish  to  name.  You  had 
better  name  them,  Doctor.  You  may  say  that  I  always 
have  spent  my  last  cent  to  support  my  old  mother ;  was 
that  wrong  ?     I  also  have  occasionally  helped  my  other 


l8  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

relatives,  and  I  am  not  ashamed  of  it.  And  I  thank  God 
that  these  relatives  are  now  able  and  liberal  enough  to 
assist  me,  now  that  I  have  rained  myself  pecuniarily  by 
embracing  Christianity.  No  matter  how  much  they  feel 
offended  by  my  conversion,  they  know  that  I  cannot  be  a 
hypocrite,  but  am  sincere.  But,  again,  why  should  not  I 
be  able  to  make  a  living  among  the  Jews,  where  I  had  a 
large  circle  of  friends,  and  enjoyed  a  good  reputation, 
but  should  succeed  better  among  the  Christians,  where  I 
am  a  perfect  stranger  ?  Can  any  of  my  acquaintances 
accuse  me  of  any  willful  wrong  or  baseness,  or  selfish- 
ness, or  love  of  money  ?  You,  Dr.  Wise,  know  me  pretty 
well.  Is  it  possible,  according  to  your  knowledge  of  hu- 
man nature,  that  a  man,  such  as  you  took  me  to  be,, 
should  change  his  religion  for  money  ?  If  so,  what  made 
me  give  up  my  situation  with  its  ample  remuneration  be- 
fore my  time  expired.^  And  have  you  really  any  other 
reason  to  assert  that  I  received  any  pecuniary  benefit, 
but  the  fact  that  I  embraced  Christianity.^  Do  you 
know  that  I  received  anything  ?  Why  do  you  affirm  that 
I  sold  my  birthright,  then,  if  you  do  not  know  it  ?  It  is 
true,  that  after  I  joined  the  church  the  members,  seeing 
that  I  had  ruined  myself,  pecuniarily,  were  kind  enough 
to  offer  me  a  purse,  but  I  emphatically  declined  receiving 
any  favors.  I  am  a  proud  son  of  Abraham,  and  with 
my  ancestor  I  said,  "  I  have  lifted  up  mine  hand  unto 
the  Lord,  the  most  high  God,  the  possessor  of  heaven 
and  earth,  that  I  will  not  take  from  a  thread  even  to  a 
shoe-latchet."  You  may  rest  assured  that  I  shall  never 
receive  but  what  I  earn. 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  I9 

Oh,  Dr.  Wise,  you  are  so  blinded  as  to  believe  the 
most  absurd  stories  about  me  ;  and  you  publish  the  fool- 
ish inventions  of  some  in  Mobile,  that  I  claimed  to  have 
seen  Christ  in  the  flesh,  and  the  Devil  in  person.  Do 
you  not  suppose  that  the  Christians  would  send  me  to  a 
lunatic  asylum  after  such  assertions  ? 

As  an  old  friend  let  me  confide  to  you  that  I  never 
labored  under  such  pecuniary  embarrassment  as  I  do 
now.  My  only  hope  and  prospect  for  a  living  is  a  kind 
Providence.  I  have  never  been  so  alone,  so  friendless  in 
the  world  as  I  am  now.  I  expected  nothing  better,  but 
sacrificed  myself  to  my  convictions. 

Let  this  suffice  as  regards  myself.  You  shall  now  have 
the  privilege  of  abusing  me,  and  of  saying  all  manner  of 
evil  and  detailing  all  sorts  of  absurd  stories  against  me. 
You  may  deride  and  ridicule  me.  I  shall  never  contra- 
dict you  about  any  thing  concerning  myself  personally. 

You  pay  me  the  compliment,  though,  of  having  been 
as  thorough  a  rationalist  as  there  is  in  this  country,  and 
you  conclude,  therefore,  that  I  cannot  possibly  believe 
one  word  of  Christianity,  and  challenge  me  to  come  out 
and  defend  it.  I  must  surely  answer  you  in  that  respect, 
and  therefore  I  have  undertaken  to  write  this  little  book, 
in  order  to  defend  what  I  feel  and  know  to  be  true.  But 
let  me  confess  that  I  feel  my  knowledge  is  inadequate  to 
the  task.  I  have  never  studied  one  book  of  Christian 
theology.  All  the  knowledge  I  may  have  acquired  of  it 
is  by  reading  books  opposed  to  Christianity,  and  mainly, 
besides  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  the  rabbinical 
literature.    Another  disadvantage  under  which  I  labor  is 


20  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

the  fact  that  I  am  entirely  without  the  necessary  library 
for  such  a  work.  But  still  I  shall  give  you  the  necessary 
reasons  and  the  history  of  my  conversion  as  well  as  I  can.  I 
shall  try  to  express  what  I  think  and  feel  to  be  true,  and 
how  I  came  to  my  present  thoughts  and  feelings.  It  will 
be  for  you,  then,  either  to  take  back  what  you  have  said, 
namely,  that  I  must  either  be  insane  or  a  base  hypocrite ; 
or  to  show  me  why,  if  you  still  maintain  what  you  said. 
I  only  request  you  and  every  other  reader  of  these  pages 
to  read  carefully,  and  examine  well,  before  you  judge. 
As  I  know  by  experience  that  a  Jew  is  very  apt  to  get 
angry  in  hearing  proofs  of  Christianity,  I  beg  you  to 
keep  calm,  and  let  your  mind  examine  before  your  heart 
yields  to  passion. 


•OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY. 


CHAPTER  I. 
RELIGION. 

"  The  just  shall  live  by  his  faith."     Habakkuk  ii :  4. 

To  defend  Judaism,  or  Christianity,  with  the  principle 
of  the  so-called  Rationalists,  that  is,  the  principle  not  to 
believe  anything  you  G«,nnot  understand,  is,  according  to 
my  humble  view,  a  thing  impossible.  I  was  not  con- 
verted because  I  found  out  that  Christianity  must  be 
true  according  to  natural  philosophy  and  metaphysics, 
because  I  comprehended  the  fundamental  doctrines  of 
Christianity  by  my  reason ;  I  only  concluded  that  there 
must  be  something  between  man  and  God  which  my 
reason  cannot  comprehend;  that  my  reason  does  not 
lead  me  to  truth,  or  to  happiness  ;  that  there  is  something 
necessary  for  human  happiness  which  is  above  reason ; 
and  that,  therefore,  I  cannot  understand  everything,  and 
must  have  a  belief. 

Religion  means  belief  in  matters  of  God,  the  soul  and 
eternity.  As  these  subjects  are  above  nature  and  above 
reason,  we  cannot  understand,  but  must  believe.  Could 
everything  necessary  for  human  happiness  be  reached  by 


22  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

reason,  through  science,  then  there  would  really  be  no> 
need  for  religion  at  all.  The  schools  would  suffice,  and 
the  learned  man  must  become  perfect,  while  the  common 
man,  or  the  one  with  little  brain,  would  be  at  a  great 
disadvantage.  Reason  can  only  tell  if  there  is  any  ne- 
cessity for  the  acceptance  of  belief;  if  the  things  com- 
prehensible do  satisfy  our  souls,  or  if  we  must  believe 
what  is  told  to  us  about  things  incomprehensible  and  be 
guided  by  them,  in  order  to  have  peace  of  soul  and  hope 
for  a  future.  If  reason  ascertains  that  it  is  not'  sufficient 
of  itself  to  make  man  happy,  and  that  something  super- 
natural, incomprehensible,  is  necessary  for  our  happiness^ 
then  it  has  also  ascertained  that  we  must  have  a  religion, 
that  we  must  believe.  It  remains,  now,  for  reason  to 
discern  if  there  is  anything  inconrprehensible  deserving 
our  belief,  and  what  we  should  believe. 

If,  again,  human  reason  cannot  supply  us  with  the 
things  necessary  for  our  felicity,  we  must  look  for  some- 
thing which  God  supplies,  that  is,  we  must  look  for  a  re- 
ligion from  God  ;  for,  a  religion  not  from  God  is  not 
worth  having ;  as  we  said  that  we  must  first  find  reason 
inadequate  in  order  to  look  for  a  religion.  Now  reason 
must  find  the  religion  which  God  teaches.  In  shorty 
reason  tells  first  that  we  need  a  religion  ;  second,  that 
the  religion  must  be  from  God ;  third,  which  religion  is 
from  God.  But  as  soon  as  reason  has  ascertained  that 
there  is  a  religion  from  God,  and  this  religion  teaches 
things  which  are  absurd,  according  to  reason,  contradic- 
tory according  to  logic,  impossible  according  to  the  laws 
of  nature,  that  can  be  no  hinderance  to  accepting  it,  for 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  2$, 

God  is  above  reason,  logic  and  nature.  The  incompre- 
hensibilities can  be  no  hinderance  with  a  religion  fronii 
God,  as  God  himself  is  incomprehensible,  and  as  we  can 
only  decide  to  embrace  any  religion  because  we  see  that 
the  comprehensible  things  are  not  sufficient,  and  we  look 
for  an  incomprehensible  way  to  God. 

Let  us  fall  prostrate  into  the  dust ;  let  us  bring  our 
vain  hearts  and  haughty  minds  down  in  humility  ;  let 
reason  be  silent ;  let  the  laws  of  nature  cease  to  work ;. 
let  philosophy  bashfully  veil  her  face ;  let  all  the  sciences 
give  up  their  principles ;  let  the  universe  tremble  and 
listen,  when  the  Lord  God,  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  the  God 
of  Israel  speaks.  And  He  speaks,  speaks  through  his 
word,  the  Bible,  and  we  must  listen  and  believe, — even  if 
we  do  not  comprehend.  Philosophy  of  religion  can  only 
show  us  our  own  spiritual  impotence,  and  lead  us  to  be- 
lieve. 

We  do  not  say  that  we  give  up  reason  because  we 
embrace  an  incomprehensible  religion;  nor  do  we  be- 
lieve anything  really  against  reason.  We  cannot  em- 
brace any  religion  before  reason  tells  us  that  it  is  true,, 
that  it  is  from  God;  but  then  we  can  believe  God  if  even 
his  word  seems  to  be  against  reason.  It  appears  only 
against  reason  because  it  is  above  it,  and  reason  can 
easily  find  that  there  are  things  above  it. 

The  efforts  of  the  Jewish  philosophers  to  reconcile  the 
Bible  with  philosophy  were  not  to  prove  the  revelations, 
a  logical  necessity,  /.  e.,  that  they  must  have  happened 
according  to  the  visible  laws  of  the  universe  ;  but  that  a 
first  cause,  a  free  Being  is  above  the  laws  of  nature,  who 


24  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

because  above  the  laws  of  nature  is  above  our  compre- 
hension, and  whose  revelations  have  occurred  in  spite  of 
the  visible  laws  of  the  universe. 

God,  as  revealed  in  nature  and  history,  cannot  have 
divided  the  Red  Sea  and  wrought  other  miracles  which 
are  against  natural  laws  ;  but  still  the  revelations  and 
miracles  are  historical  facts,  and  the  Jewish  philosopher 
believed  them,  not  understood  them.  Why  did  he 
believe  ?  Because  the  living  Jewish  nation,  in  whose 
presence  the  miracles  were  wrought,  was  a  witness ;  be- 
cause the  marvelous  preservation  of  that  nation,  against 
the  laws  of  history,  notwithstanding  their  scattered  and 
persecuted  condition,  shows  that  the  Bible  which  pre- 
dicted their  fate  must  be  of  divine  origin ;  because  the 
depravity  of  mankind,  notwithstanding  moral  laws,  con- 
vinces that  mankind  needs  a  supernatural  revelation; 
and  because  the  Bible,  of  itself,  its  power  and  influence, 
proves  itself  to  be  the  word  of  God.  The  Jewish  phi- 
losopher saw  the  conflict  between  Bible  and  science,  and 
he  only  proved  that  there  is  something  above,  not  against 
science  and  reason  ;  consequently,  the  testimonies  of  the 
Jewish  nation  and  their  Bible  are  credible  in  spite  of 
philosophy.  For  God's  word  needs  not  to  be  comprehen- 
sible in  order  to  be  credible ;  it  is  enough  to  know  that 
God  spake  it  in  order  to  believe  it. 

So  the  Jewish  philosopher  admitted  that  God  cannot 
be  understood,  and  that  He  had  revealed  Himself  and 
worked  miracles  not  according  to  the  laws  of  nature,  but 
above  them.  He  did  not  try  to  understand  how  it  was 
possible  that  God  should  speak  or  should  divide  the  Red 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  25 

Sea,  but  he  believed  that  God  did  speak  and  that  the 
Bible  was  His  word.  Thus  we  find  the  old  Jewish  phi- 
losophers all  believing,  from  Saadyah  down  to  Mendel- 
sohn. 

It  is  true,  that  some  introduced  a  sort  of  Rationalism 
into  the  Jewish  theology,  by  trying  to  understand  God's 
word,  where  it  deals  with  God's  mysteries,  and  to  find 
natural  reasons  for  his  commandments.  That  was  an 
inconsistency,  and  they  failed.  For  if  we  cannot  under- 
stand God  and  believe  Him,  we  cannot  understand  what 
He  says  about  Himself,  but  must  accept  God's  revelations 
and  commandments  as  they  are,  without  reason.  If 
everything  God  said  was  according  to  science,  there  was 
no  necessity  for  His  revelations.  Had  the  prophets  been 
teachers  of  metaphysics  merely,  then  no  prophecy  was 
necessary  for  that.  There  are  but  two  ways;  either  you 
believe  and  accept  everything  in  the  Bible,  regardless  of 
reason,  or  you  reject  and  do  not  believe.  If  you  believe 
you  must  admit  that  you  believe  God  and  He  is  incom- 
prehensible, and  if  you  again  treat  His  word  rationally 
then  you  are  inconsistent.  Just  see  Maimonides  on  the 
vision  of  Ezekiel  about  God's  chariot  (Maasseh  Merka- 
bah) ;  is  it  not  ridiculous.?  In  his  reasons  for  God's 
commandments  he  also  failed.  He  takes  the  Tal- 
mudical  terms,  "Maasseh  Merkabah,"  "works  of  the 
chariot,"  and  Maaseh  Bereshith,  "works  of  the  creation," 
or  "beginning,"  as  alluding  to  metaphysics  and  natural 
philosophy,  which  is  an  obvious  mistake ;  for  any  one 
conversant  with  the  Talmud  must  see  that  the  Rabbis 
understood    by    the    above-mentioned     terms    nothing 


^6  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

but  some  Cabalistic  mysteries,  which  they  claimed  to 
have  traditionally  received  from  the  times  of  the 
prophets,  and  considering  them  very  sacred  traditions 
they  committed  them  to  only  a  very  few  chosen  scholars. 
"^'Merkabah"  and  "  Bereshith  "  was  a  kind  of  gnostic 
knowledge,  and  they  expected  that  one  who  knew  those 
mysteries  could  even  work  miracles,  as  they  tell  of  some 
who  understood  the  "  works  of  creation " ;  that  they 
created  a  calf  on  every  Friday  for  the  use  of  the  Sab- 
bath. 

Maimonides  believed  the  Bible  at  the  same  time  that 
he  thought  everything  could  be  understood  by  study. 
The  way  of  perfection  was  with  him  the  work  of  the 
brain.  He  was  too  rational  for  his  belief,  and  therefore 
inconsistent.  He  tried  to  lift  the  sacred  veil  and  to 
look  upon  the  visions  with  the  eyes  of  reason,  and  failed. 
Notwithstanding  his  orthodox  belief,  he  laid  the  first 
foundation  for  the  Bible-denying  movement  of  this  cen- 
tury. The  germ  was  slumbering  until  this  century,  when 
the  Jews  of  Germany,  becoming  acquainted  with  profane 
knowledge,  cultivated  what  Maimonides  planted,  until 
that  poisonous,  demoralizing,  anti-religious,  Bible-deny- 
ing system  which  thej  call  Reform,,  grew  up.. 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  27 


CHAPTER  II. 
THE   JEWISH    REFORM. 

■''For  the  wisdom  of  their  wise  men  shall  perish,  and  the  understanding  of 
their  prudent  men  shall  be  hid."    Is.  sxis:  14. 

I  cannot  accuse  the  Reformed  Jews  who  followed  the 
Rationalists  of  this  century  of  being  inconsistent  in  the 
sense  in  which  I  had  accused  Maimonides  of  being  so. 
The  reformers  do  not  try  to  understand  supernatural 
things,  but  they  deny  them.  There  is  no  necessity  for 
them  to  enter  into  the  visions,  to  understand  all  the 
Bible,  as  they  do  not  believe  it  to  be  of  divine  origin. 
They  think  that  they  have  found  the  true  light ;  human 
reason  and  unbelief  are  their  lights.  That  is  really 
consistent,  for  if  we  must  understand  all  we  believe, 
then  we  cannot  believe  the  Bible,  as  it  is  partly  incom- 
prehensible ;  and,  as  I  will  show  below,  it  even  contains 
absurdities  according  to  human  reason.  With  the  Re- 
formers the  Bible  is  a  venerable  book,  and  they  criticise 
it  like  any  other  ancient  book.  Miracles  are  legends 
and  tales;  Moses  is  a  sort  of  Lycutgus ;  Aaron  a  Pope; 
David  something  like  Alexander  the  Great ;  Isaiah  the 


28  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

Jewish  Demosthenes ;  Jeremiah  and  all  the  prophets  are 
only  a  kind  of  orators  or  bards  (market  singers).  The 
source  of  Jewish  theology  is  sought  among  the  old 
Egyptians,  and  in  an  old  Persian  literature,  which  does- 
not  even  exist.  The  Urim  and  Thumim  become  a  kind 
of  Delphinian  oracle.  The  history  of  Israel  is  compared 
with  that  of  Poland,  and  revelation  is  a  kind  of  imagina- 
tion. The  Reformers  would  not  even  admit  that  Israel 
is  dispersed  for  their  sins,  a  thing  which  is  so  plainly 
predicted  and  taught  by  Moses  and  the  prophetSs 

I  speak  of  my  own  experience.  I  published  articles 
in  which  I  denied  the  Sinaitic  revelation,  the  division  of 
the  Red  Sea  and  all  other  miracles,  but  still  I  considered, 
myself  an  adherent  of  the  Old  Testament.  I  thought  I 
was  a  Jew  and  a  Reformer.  These  my  articles  had  the 
apjoroval  of  every  Reformed  Jew,  and  even  recommended 
me  for  the  rabbinical  office.  That  is  the  Reform,  the 
consequence  of  refusing  to  believe  anything  which  is  not 
according  to  reason,  if  it  is  even  taught  in  the  Bible. 
So  far  the  Reformers  are  consistent. 

But  on  another  point  they  are  most  absurdly  incon- 
sistent. For,  what  reason  have  they  to  keep  up  syna- 
gogues .'^  In  what  respect  are  they  Jews  according  to 
religion  ?  In  what  respect  can  they  even  claim  to  have 
a  religion  if  they  depend  on  their  own  reason  and 
morality  only  .'*  They  claim  to  be  Reformers,  but  are 
rejecters  of  Judaism.  God's  chosen  people  they  claim, 
to  be,  and  boast  of  a  Bible  which  in  reality  they  do  not 
believe.  What  a  God-chosen  people  is  that,  with  whom 
Moses  was    a    human  law-giver,  who    even   blinded   his. 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  Zg 

people  by  making  them  believe  he  could  work  miracles ; 
Joshua  and  David  generals,  conquerors  ;  the  prophets, 
bards.  What  a  Bible,  with  lies,  and  tales,  and  doctrines 
taken  from  the  idolators.  That  is  a  horrible  chosen 
people,  but  exactly  according  to  the  reform.  If  the 
Bible  is  not  literally  the  word  of  God  and  our  ancestors 
were  not  distingished  by  God's  grace  in  speaking  to 
them,  then  the  Grecians  and  Romans  were  more  chosen 
than  the  Israelites.  They  excelled  us  in  generals,  in 
conquerors,  in  philosophers,  in  poets  and  orators,  in 
everything,  if  we  deny  God's  revelation,  and  that  he 
dwelt  among  us  and  worked  supernatural  miracles  for 
us.  Why  are  we  chosen?  You  answer,  that  the  Jews^ 
in  their  wandering  might  give  the  Bible  to  the  nations. 
Firstly,  the  wandering  and  dispersion  of  the  Jews  is  pre-^ 
dieted  by  Moses  and  the  prophets  as  a  curse,  a  punish- 
ment to  them,  not  that  they  were  chosen  for  that ;  sec- 
ondly, the  Reformers  do  not  believe  the  Bible  them- 
selves, and  only  talk  about  the  blessing  the  nations> 
received  with  their  Bible.  (Even  the  believing  Jews  do^ 
not  read  the  Bible,  with  exception  of  the  pentateuch  ; 
the  learned  ones  study  the  Talmud,  and  consider  it  toa 
trifling  a  matter  to  study  the  Bible.)  Thirdly,  where  are 
the  nations  who  received  the  Bible  from  the  Jews? 
Those  Jews  only  who  came  in  the  name  of  Christ  have 
given  and  taught  the  Bible  to  the  Gentiles,  and  such  you 
do  not  consider  as  Jews.  You  Reformers  say  that  you 
had  the  noble  mission  to  teach  monotheism  to  the  Gen- 
tiles. Show  me  the  Gentiles  who  listen  to  you.  Wher- 
ever the  Gentiles  listen  to  the  teachings  of  the  God  of 

3 


30  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

Israel  it  is  in  a  Christian  church;  when  they  call  to  the 
one  God  of  Abraham  they  are  taught  to  do  so  by  the 
apostles  of  Christ.  When  did  the  Jews,  especially  the 
Reformers,  ever  convert  a  nation  to  God  ?  It  is  a  sad 
fact,  that  the  Jews  were  persecuted  and  driven  away  by 
the  nations,  not  that  they  learned  from  them.  On  the 
contrary,  they  always  despised  their  teachings.  Where 
the  Jews  were  tolerated  they  have  surely  not  influenced 
the  religious  life  of  the  Gentiles,  nor  do  they  influence 
it  to-day.  Secondly,  according  to  the  Jewish  opinion, 
the  nations  do  not  believe  in  monotheism  as  long  as  they 
believe  in  a  Trinity ;  consequently  only  those  Gentiles 
who  reject  the  Trinity  are  converted  to  monotheism. 
But  it  is  a  fact  that  such  nations  do  not  believe  even  the 
Old  Testament,  and  deny  Judaism  as  well  as  Christianity ; 
besides,  that  they  never  learned  their  infidelism  from  the 
Jews. 

Where  are  your  Monotheists  according  to  your  doc- 
trine.^ The  German  rationalists  have  not  learned  from 
you,  but  actually  the  Reformed  Jews  learned  from  them. 
Even  the  manner  of  explicating  and  criticising  Scripture 
now  adopted  by  the  Reformers  originated  with  the  Ger- 
man infidels.  You  learned  your  reform  from  them.  Con- 
sequently, the  blessing  God  gave  to  Abraham,  that  in  his 
seed  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  should  be  blessed,  is 
fulfilled  in  the  seed  of  the  old  Teutons,  not  of  Abraham. 
You  ought  to  change  the  name  of  Abraham  in  the  Bible 
for  that  of  Herman,  the  Cherusksian's  ancestor. 

If,  according  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Reform,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  believe  in  one  God,  as  he  is  revealed  in  na- 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  3I 

ture  and  history,  the  God  of  reason,  why  is  it  that  the 
world  never  came  to  that  God  without  the  Bible  ?  For 
before  Christ  they  were  all  idolaters.  If  God  is  only  to 
be  believed  according  to  his  revelation  to  reason,  then 
surely  he  has  not  chosen  Israel,  as  the  Gentiles  had. 
greater  philosophers.  And  why  should  he  choose  one 
nation.^  Where  is  the  necessity  to  be  Jews  for  this 
alone }  What  need  is  there  of  a  Pentateuch  for  the  God 
of  the  philosophers  ? 

If  your  monotheism  is  the  monotheism  of  philosophy, 
what  connection  have  you  with  Moses?  Did  Moses 
bring  any  other  proof  for  the  existence  of  God  but  the 
miracles .?  Did  he  teach  philosophy  ?  In  his  exhorta- 
tions he  says,  "Take  heed  that  ye  forget  not  the  things 
which  thy  eyes  have  seeny  He  reminds  his  people  that 
God  delivered  them  from  Egypt  with  a  strong  hand, 
with  signs  and  miracles.  If  he  reminds  us  not  to  forget 
the  miracles  then  we  must  believe  them  first. 

Oh,  the  Reformers  have  forgotten  what  God  has  done 
for  them.  The  God  of  Abraham  and  Moses  is  not  the 
God  of  the  Reformers  and  rationalists.  The  God  of 
Moses  and  Abraham  is  an  absurd,  a  cruel  God  in  the 
eyes  of  rationalists.  And  you  Reformers  claim  to  be 
Jews  while  you  are  rationalists. 

The  Reformers  also  sometimes  claim,  it  to  be  a  Jewish 
mission  to  teach  the  world  civilization,  culture,  humanity 
and  other  good  things.  Show  me  the  nation  civilized  by 
Jewish  teaching  or  influence;  show  me  the  Jewish 
schools  and  universities  to  teach  mankind ;  show  me  the 
Jewish  civilization  and  culture.     If  there  is  such  a  thing 


2,2  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

as  a  Jewish  civilization,  why  are  not  the  Jews  of  Africa 
like  those  of  Germany?  the  Jews  of  Russia  like  those  of 
France  ?  History  proves  that  even  the  heathen  were 
more  civilized  than  the  Jews.  And  to-day  we  see  in 
every  country  the  Jews  only  civilized  according  to  the 
civilization  of  the  country  they  live  in.  What  is  the 
mission  of  the  Jews,  then  ? 

The  real  Judaism,  as  it  is  handed  down  to  you,  is  not 
the  so-called  Reform.  Down  to  this  century,  and  until  a 
few  years  ago,  you  could  find  no  single  congregation,  no 
single  Rabbi  teaching  such  a  curious  Judaism  as  you 
Reformers  do.  Judaism  teaches  that  every  word  of  the 
prophets  must  be  believed,  all  the  miracles  and  visions; 
that  the  law  of  Moses  is  obligatory  upon  every  Israelite  ; 
that  a  Messiah  will  come  to  redeem  Israel,  as  he  is  plainly 
promised  in  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  Hosea,  Micah, 
Zechariah  and  Malachi.  If  you  say  that  the  promises 
of  the  Messiah  are  fulfilled  in  King  Hezekiah,  that  could 
only  be  the  case  with  the  promises  of  Isaiah  and  Hosea. 
The  other  prophets  lived  even  after  the  destruction  of 
the  temple,  and  they  predict  plainly  that  Israel's  help 
will  come  out  of  the  house  of  David,  as  I  will  show 
below.  How  can  you  claim  to  be  an  adherent  of  the 
Bible  and  not  expect  a  Messiah  ?  If  you  believe  God 
spoke  on  Sinai  why  don't  you  keep  the  Sabbath.'*  If 
you  do  not  believe  it,  what  makes  you  keep  a  sham  Sab- 
bath .'*  What  madness  makes  you  circumcise  your  chil- 
dren, if  you  do  not  believe  it  to  be  literally  true  that  God 
spoke  to  Abraham  ?  And  if  you  do  believe  it,  how  can 
you  understand  it  upon  rational  principles  ?     What  few 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  ;^^ 

commandments  you  Reformers  keep  cannot  be  defended 
by  reason,  but  by  belief.  Therefore,  if  a  Reformer  were 
consistent,  he  would  either  have  nothing  to  do  with  the 
synagogue  and  Judaism,  or  accept  the  Bible  and  believe. 
Should  a  Reformer  get  tired  of  the  inconsistency  and 
change  to  be  an  orthodox  Jew  he  cannot  do  it  upon  the 
ground  that  he  finds  Judaism  agreeing  with  rationalism, 
but  because  he  concluded  to  give  up  the  so-called  ra- 
tionalism and  believe  the  Bible ;  and  so  I  concluded. 

I  concluded  that  the  Bible  is  true,  and  my  rational- 
ism was  folly,  that  it  is  Israel's  mission  not  to  teach  phi- 
losophy, or  civilization,  or  humanity,  or  science,  but 
religion.  Israel  are  only  chosen  for  religious  purposes, 
and  their  religion  is  in  the  Bible,  and  as  long  as  they  do 
not  come  up  to  their  mission  they  are  not  true  Israelites. 
Now  I  will  show  how  I  came  to  that  conclusion. 


34  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION 


CHAPTER  III. 
THE  HEART'S  STRUGGLES. 

"  And  he  went  on  frowardly  in  the  way  of  his  heart."     Is.  Ivii :  17. 

Once,  in  my  youth,  I  was  a  zealous  Jew.  I  believed 
every  Rabbi,  and  my  days  and  nights  were  devoted  to 
talmudical  studies.  I  tried  to  keep  the  rabbinical  law, 
and  labored  anxiously  to  be  good  according  to  prescrip- 
tion. My  heart  was  pressed,  my  soul  in  fetters,  I  never 
was  satisfied.  Who  can  keep  all  the  law  ?  And  what  I 
kept  gave  me  no  joy,  no  inner  reward.  What  a  life, 
whose  end  is  death  and  judgment,  and  only  a  law  for 
justification,  and  that  law  daily  broken.  With  me  a 
law  to  torture,  before  me  death  to  terrify.  What  a 
burden  !  Always  sighs  and  tears.  God  I  knew  from 
hearing,  by  reputation;  I  never  felt  him  in  my  heart.  I 
feared  him  and  knew  it  was  my  duty  to  love  him.  I  was 
born  with  religious  propensities.  As  a  young  boy,  I 
often  wept  bitterly  before  God.  I  wanted  to  be  good,  I 
wanted  perfection.  The  Rabbis  told  me  that  the  only 
way  to  acquire  perfection  before  God,  is  an  everlasting 
study  of  the  Talmud,  and  the  full  keeping  of  the  rabbini- 
cal code — that  cold,  frozen,  crazy  law. 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  35 

"Study  the  Talmud,"  I  heard  when  I  open'ed  my  eyes 
in  the  morning,  and  "Study  the  Talmud,"  was  reverber- 
ated in  my  dreams.  "  Be  a  learned  Rabbi,  then  you  are 
a  holy  man,"  I  often  heard  and  repeated.  So  that  a 
man  with  much  brain  and  talmudical  knowledge  I  con- 
sidered a  holy  man ;  the  poor  in  spirit,  and  the  humble, 
a  child  of  hell.  What  a  reverence  I  felt  for  a  greatly 
learned  talmudist.  So  I  tried  to  pile  much  talmudical 
knowledge  in  my  head,  and  with  that  I  fulfilled  the  main 
religious  duty.  Of  taming  my  passions  I  never  thought. 
"The  peevish  man  cannot  be  a  school-teacher,"  is  a 
proverb  of  the  fathers,  and  as  a  Jewish  school-teacher 
was  not  the  one  I  envied,  so  there  was  no  necessity  to 
tame  my  naturally  hot  temper.  "  The  jealousy  of  the 
learned  increases  the  wisdom,"  is  another  proverb.  So 
the  teacher  was  glad  to  see  his  scholars  vain  about  their 
good  lessons,  or  jealous  of  those  better  than  themselves. 
In  order  that  my  wisdom  should  increase  it  was  neces- 
sary to  have  me  vain  and  jealous!  My  heart  grew  wild, 
my  passions  entirely  out  of  my  control. 

The  utmost  extremes  of  anger  and  passion  never 
gave  me  any  pangs  of  conscience,  for  I  considered  it  no 
sin.  It  is  indeed  mentioned  in  the  talmudical  moral 
sayings,  that  wrath  is  like  idolatry ;  but  these  moral  say- 
ings are  not  binding  laws ;  especially  if  one  has  a  good 
brain  and  is  a  good  talmudical  scholar,  then  it  is  imma- 
terial what  kind  of  a  temper  he  has.  To  tell  a  lie,  of 
course,  was  not  right,  but  it  is  surely  better  to  say  a 
million  of  lies  every  day  than  to  eat  one  piece  of  pork, 
or  even  to  use  the  same  utensil  for  milk  which  was  used 


3^  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

for  meat  before.  Sometimes  we  must  say  lies  any  way, 
for  there  are  a  class  of  lies  considered  allowed,  especially 
in  business.  The  Talmud  gives  permission  to  tell  lies  for 
the  sake  of  peace  (mipne  darke  shalom). 

I  was  also  instructed  that  I  must  pray  at  certain  hours. 
When  the  hour  had  passed  I  had  lost  my  chance,  and 
that  was  a  fearful  sin.  To  be  sure,  every  prayer  was  from 
the  prayer-book,  written  in  Hebrew,  and  there  are  very, 
very  few  who  understand  that  language ;  but  still  they 
must  pray  in  Hebrew.  Luckily  enough  I  understood  the 
Hebrew  when  I  was  very  young.  Before  and  after  every 
thing  you  eat  you  must  say  a  blessing,  and  before  certain 
kinds  of  food  you  must  also  wash  your  hands.  How 
often  was  I  almost  choked  with  a  piece  of  apple,  when 
reminded  that  I  forgot  to  say  the  blessing,  and  then  I 
said  it  quickly  while  the  piece  was  in  my  throat.  How 
many  sad  hours  of  unavailing  penance  embittered  my 
youth,  when  I  forgot  an  evening  prayer,  or  a  blessing 
before  an  apple,  or  a  certain  piece  of  prayer  to  be  in- 
serted at  certain  days  or  new  moons.  I  never  shall  for- 
get the  terror  and  contrition  I  felt  for  carelessly  taking 
one  raspberry  into  my  mouth  on  the  anniversary  of  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  when  I  had  to  fast.  I  once 
forgot  and  carried  my  handkerchief  in  my  pocket  on  the 
day  of  atonement,  which  is  forbidden,  because  it  is  said 
"  Ye  shail  carry  no  load  out  of  your  houses  on  the  Sab- 
bath day."  I  thought  that  I  must  surely  die  that  very 
year  on  account  of  such  a  fearful  sin. 

So  I  labored  under  the  law,  until  a  little  secular  knowl- 
edge and  the  study  of  the  old  Jewish  philosophers  made  me 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  37 

•examine  the  Talmud  with  a  critical  eye  ;  and  I  suspected, 
finally  concluded,  that  the  rabbinical  law  was  not  of  di- 
vine but  of  human  origin ;  that  the  spirit  of  the  Talmud 
was  not  the  one  of  the  Bible,  Love  of  the  world  and  a 
wild  temper  made  me  break  the  law  entirely  and  publicly  ; 
I  studied  now  for  the  sake  of  knowledge.  The  rabbini- 
cal law  was  dead  for  me,  and  I  partly  despised  those 
who  had  made  it.  But  not  even  here  did  it  end.  The 
modern  critics  of  the  Bible  made  me  treat  the  Bible  as  I 
would  any  other  ancient  book.  I  had  no  religion,  and 
so  made  one  for  myself.  I  was  a  rationalist,  a  Reformer. 
The  blood  only  made  my  nation  dear  to  me ;  the  influ- 
ence of  youth  or  the  inner  power  of  it  made  me  love  the 
Bible.  But  it  was  an  inconsistency.  I  deceived  myself. 
I  never  was  satisfied  with  the  spirit  of  the  Jews,  and  had 
no  right  to  claim  to  be  a  believer  in  the  Bible,  more  than 
any  reform  Rabbi  has. 

The  breaking  of  the  law  and  the  free  criticism  of  it  after 
a  life  of  Jewish  orthodoxy,  looked  like  freedom.  But  I 
did  by  no  means  feel  free.  The  soul  is  only  free  when 
it  is  subjected  to  God.  In  God  is  freedom.  I  was  in 
business,  and  worked  in  the  world,  and  also  tried  to  enjoy 
it.  I  often  even  forgot  myself  in  it,  and  lived  not  in 
accordance  with  my  own  principles.  I  did  not  maintain 
the  position  in  society  as  I  ought  to  have  done.  I 
made  myself  low  with  the  low  men  of  this  world,  who 
think  themselves  high.  In  short,  I  did  not  lead  the  life  I 
was  destined  to  lead  by  my  education.  I  failed  very 
much.  But  the  most  of  my  nights  were  taken  up  for 
reading  and   study.     I  was   thinking   almost  incessantly. 


3^  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

I  was  not  satisfied,  I  was  miserable.  I  finally  entered 
the  Jewish  ministry  of  this  country.  It  became  my  busi- 
ness now  to  think  and  to  study  about  the  relations  between 
man  and  God,  and  my  misery  increased.  I  believed  in 
God,  in  an  immortal  soul,  in  judgment,  and  what  did  I 
have.?  The  religious  and  spiritual  condition  of  my 
peoj^Je  brought  me  to  despair.  I  could  feel  and  preach, 
that  we  were  bad,  that  we  have  no  religion,  but  could  I 
show  the  way  how  to  be  good  ?  Who  can  ?  I  praised 
the  Bible,  and  perverted  it.  My  heart  told  me  I  had  no 
business  with  the  Bible.  What  shall  a  Jew  do  with  a. 
Bible,  when  he  sees  that  the  law  does  not  make  him 
happy,  or  even  better  ? 

I  got  sick  of  the  world,  I  felt  miserable  and  sometimes  > 
I  did  not  even  know  why.  Is  not  every  body  unhappy.'* 
Is  there  not  a  certain  yearning  and  longing  after  some- 
thing unknown  in  every  human  heart.?  There  is  an 
^.aiming  without  an  end.  Who  is  happy.?  I  also  was 
■"tliigtDnsidered  good-hearted,  honest,  and  to  myself  I  said 
'that  I  was  a  miserable  wretch.  Conscience  always  tor- 
ments. Who  has  a  perfectly  clear  conscience .?  Who 
does  not  complain  of  himself.?  Conscience  is  a  more 
reliable  judge  than  public  opinion.  We  can  hear  man- 
kind sighing;  there  is  one  sigh  going  through  every 
human  heart.     Why .? 

Believing  in  God,  I  had  good  reason  to  fear  him,  to> 
fear  death,  which  brings  me  before  his  throne.  I  thought. 
I  saw  the  light,  I  was  a  rationalist ;  but  did  rationalism 
settle  the  account  between  me  and  my  great  all-loving,, 
rihgteous  Creator .?     I  often  thought  I  could  die  without. 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  39^ 

fear,  but  when   I   saw  others  dying,  or  was   myself  sick^. 
then  I  felt   a  trembling  soul   in   me.     Let  peojole  boast 
about  courage  to  die;  everybody  feels  he  must  go  before- 
his  God  and   trembles.     We   can   see   mankind  tremble. 
What  will  be  our  end  ?     Think  ! 

Dear  reader,  ask  your  own  heart.  It  will  tell  you  whether 
I  am  wrong,  whether  I  speak  in  accordance  with  your  otvn 
heart.  Are  you  happy.?  Is  your  conscience  clear .?  Have 
you  peace  of  soul  and  peace  of  mind  ?  Is  there  peace 
between  you  and  your  God  ?  Is  your  soul  perfectly  at 
rest  ?  Can  you  meet  death  with  a  smile  ?  Can  you  meet 
God's  judgment  without  fear.?  Ask  yourselves  these 
questions.  Perhaps  some  say  they  do  not  believe  in 
God  or  in  immortality,  but  just  ask  your  heart.  You 
will  feel  that  you  do  believe,  that  you  are  miserable  and 
tremble.     Do  not  deceive  yourself. 

I  w^as  troubled,  awfully  troubled.  I  studied,  and 
searched,  and  thought  all  the  time,  about  the  cause  of  hu- 
man misery,  and  I  will  show  you  below  that  I  found  the 
real  cause,  and  I  hope  you  will  find  that  I  am  right.  I  tried 
to  be  good,  to  improve  my  ways,  I  made  the  best  resolu- 
tions. All  in  vain.  The  more  I  tried  to  be  good,  the  worse 
I  got.  I  found  no  rest  for  my  soul.  Weakness  overcame 
good  intentions,  raging  passions  overpowered  the  best 
will.  The  spirit  is  willing,  but  the  flesh  is  weak.. 
Moral  proverbs  and  the  best  intentions  give  no  power 
to  be  good.  I  knew  that  I  was  bad  but  weak.  Thus  I 
was  restless.  Single  good  actions  gave  me  no  peace.  I 
suffered  fearfully.     I  had  no  aim'  but  this  world ;   I  rani 


40  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

after  it,  and  still  I  could  find  no  satisfaction  in  it ;  I  de- 
spised it. 

Peace  of  heart  and  mind  was  my  most  ardent  desire, 
was  all  I  wanted.  It  became  my  constant  prayer.  But 
I  prayed  to  the  God  of  philosophy,  and  he  does  not 
hear;  the  God  of  nature  has  immutable,  merciless  laws, 
and  is  not  engaged  in  hearing  prayers ;  the  God  of  his- 
tory laughs  you  to  scorn  and  says,  "  Reap  what  you 
sow." 

Whenever  I  addressed  the  God  of  nature  and  history 
as  the  God  of  Israel;  whenever  I,  the  Reformer  and  ra- 
tionalist, dared  to  pray  to  the  God  of  Israel,  then  I  felt  I 
was  a  stranger  to  him.  I  was  ashamed  and  frightened, 
for  I  saw  the  staff  of  Moses  and  heard  the  thunders  of 
Sinai.  The  God  of  Israel  is  a  terror  to  a  rationalist,  for 
he  points  to  the  Bible.  Notwithstanding  my  treating 
and  criticising  the  Bible  as  I  would  any  other  ancient 
book,  it  always  exercised  a  great  power  over  my  heart, 
and  I  often,  as  if  involuntarily,  sought  to  find  consola- 
tion in  it. 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  41 


CHAPTER  IV. 
THE    BIBLE. 

"  The  law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect,  converting  the  soul.  "  Ps.  xix,  7. 

So  I  tried  to  make  the  Bible  the  refuge  of  my  soul.  It 
is  always  a  relief  for  every  burdened  heart  to  read  that 
Bible.  Often  it  gave  me  consolation.  But  the  ears  of 
my  soul  were  opened  and  heard  the  voice  of  God  speak- 
ing from  that  book;  I  involuntarily  examined  whether  I 
had  the  right  system  of  explicating  what  the  Bible  says. 
Many  commandments  appeared  to  me  binding  forever, 
and  I  did  not  keep  them.  Moses  spoke  decidedly  in  the 
name  of  God ;  so  that  it  suffers  no  spiritual  interpreta- 
tion. Some  commandments  are  against  common  sense, 
against  humanity  and  cannot  be  defended  by  reason,  or 
justified  because  of  the  olden  time.  Especially  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Divinity  as  taught  by  Moses  is  entirely  dif- 
ferent from  what  philosophy  teaches.  I  saw  that  we  must 
simply  accept  mysteries,  if  we  accept  the  Bible,  for  Moses' 
monotheism  is  a  mysterious  one.  I  used  to  think  I  spir- 
itualized the  miracles  because  I  took  them  to  be  poetical 
expressions.     The  old  Jewish  bard  related  the  facts  of 


.42  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

Israel's  history  in  the  form  of  a  miracle.  That  method  I, 
■like  all  the  reformers,  learned  from  the  German  Gentiles, 
but  in  reading  the  Bible,  feeling  it  as  the  word  of  God,  we 
lose  the  appetite  for  such  reformed  explanations,  espe- 
cially as  we  see  the  language  is  too  prosaic,  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  miracles  too  specific.  For  instance,  the  mir- 
acle with  the  manna  can  either  be  taken  as  a  natural  phe- 
nomenon, or  a  tale,  if  we  do  not  accept  a  miracle.  But 
the  Bible  says  that  every  one  had  an  omer  per  head,  no 
matter  if  he  gathered  more  or^less,  and  that  it  bred  worms 
if  left  for  the  next  day,  except  for  the  Sabbath  day.  [Ex. 
xvi.]  Andbesides  that,  Moses  reminds  his  people  of  the 
miracles  they  saw,  and  gives  it  as  the  only  proof  for  the 
existence  of  God  and  his  providence.  We  also  find  in 
the  latter  ages  of  the  Bible  that  the  historian  mentions 
the  miracle  of  the  manna.     The  Psalmist  reminds  Israel 

-of  the  fact  that  God  gave  them  manna. 

We  must,  then,  take  it  as    a  fact — as  something  super- 

'natural,  but  a  fact.  It  can  not  be  poetry,  but  either  a 
lie,  in  which  case  the  Bible  is  the  meanest  of  humbugs, 
or  a  fact,  and  then  it  is  the  word  of  God.  Again,  the 
Bible  tells  us  that  when  many  Israelites  died  because  they 
were  bitten  by  serpents,  Moses,  by  God's  command,  made 

.a  brazen  serpent,  that  the  one  who  was  bitten  might  be 
healed  by  looking  at  it.  Reformers  consider  this  a  tale. 
But  we  find  in  the  Bible  that  many  centuries  after  Moses, 
King  Hezekiah  destroyed  that  very  brazen  serpent,  be- 
cause the  Israelites  worshiped  it  as  an  idol.  Could  Heze- 
kiah destroy  a  serpent  which  existed  in  a  tale  only .?  The 

imost  radical  rationalist,  like  Mr.  Strauss,  would  say  that 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  43 

the  Israelites  made  up  the  tale;  because  the  serpent  was 
found,  therefore  they  said  that  Moses  made  it  by  the  com- 
mand of  God.  Thus  the  serpent  made  God's  command, 
not  the  command  the  serpent.  But  if  we  say  so, 
then  we  deny  the  Bible  entirely,  and  have  no  part  in  Is- 
rael whatever ;  and  if  the  Israelites  were  not  deceivers, 
then  they  were  fools,  in  keeping  such  a  Bible.  And  still 
the  Bible  had  such  an  influence  as  to  make  the  most  civ- 
ilized heathen  accept  it,  and  through  it  believe  in  one 
God,  a  thing  which  the  philosophy  of  a  Socrates,  Plato 
and  Aristotle  did  not  accomplish.  Besides  this,  I  could 
not  reject  the  Bible  entirely,  for  the  reason  I  will  show  in 
the  next  chapter.  And  if  I  should  "^accept  the  infidel 
method  of  explaining  the  occurrence  with  the  brazen  ser- 
pent, what  must  I  do  with  the  manna  ?  There  are  nu- 
merous miracles  related  in  the  Bible  which  can  not  pos- 
sibly be  explained  [rationally,  even  with  the  method  of 
Strauss,  and  they  are  so  related  that  we  must  either  be- 
lieve them  to  be  facts,  and  then  we  believe  in  incompre- 
hensible miracles,  or  if  we  do  not  believe  we  must  in  con- 
sequence reject  the  Bible  and  despise  it  beyond  any  writ- 
ten book.  That  the  Bible  can  only  be  either  a  made-up 
humbug  or  the  word  of  God,  is  a  fact  v/hich  no  really  ra- 
tional man  can  deny. 

After  I  had  such  a  conviction  about  the  Bible,  I  was 
very  much  troubled,  and  even  in  despair.  Where  am  I } 
A  minister  of  a  Reformed  Synagogue,  who  does  not  keep 
a  single  word  of  the  law,  and  that  Bible  literally  true  ? 
What  is  my  rationalism  good  for,  then  ?  I  became  wa- 
vering  in  my  mind,  and  I  still  had  ideas  of  giving  up 


44  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    flELIGION  ; 

religion  and  the  Bible  entirely.  For  I  saw  that  there  was 
no  way  between,  but  either  to  believe  more  than  I  liked 
to,  or  nothing. 

Naturally,  men  are  inclined  to  go  after  the  world  and 
the  flesh.  Every  man  makes  up  a  kind  of  a  philosophi- 
cal system  of  his  own,  because  he  would  rather  consider 
himself  free  than  bring  his  neck  under  the  yoke  of  the 
Bible.  It  is  only  a  very  weak  voice  of  the  heart  which 
makes  him  still  hold  on  to  a  shade  of  religion  ,which  voice 
is  the  propensity  of  the  poor  struggling  soul.  This  is  also 
the  case  with  the  Jewish  Reformers ;  they  go  after  the 
inclination  of  the  heart,  hating  the  yoke  of  religion,  relig- 
ion  is  not  a  matter  of  much  consideration  with  them.  No 
one  of  the  so-called  Reformed  Jews  ever  reads  the  Bible, 
or  thinks  of  examining  it.  They  know  nothing  of  it,  save  as 
an  abstract  of  Biblical  history  which  they  learned  as 
children.  Still  they  choose  to  be  Reformers,  in  order  to 
be  able  to  go  freely  after  their  hearts'  desires,  and  not  to 
be  troubled  by  religion.  They  keep  up  a  synagogue, 
(which  they  very  seldom  visit,)  in  order  to  pacify  their 
soul's  desire  for  a  religion,  and  they  make  themselves  be- 
lieve that  attention  to  business  in  order  to  support  their 
families  is  all  their  Creator  demands  of  them.  So  was  I  also 
somewhat  disposed  to  give  up  the  Bible,  go  into  business, 
and  be  a  free-thinker. 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  45 


CHAPTER  V. 
THE  WANDERING  JEW. 

'^  Ye  are  my  witnesses,  saith  the  Lord.  "  Is.  xliii,  10. 

As  I  said,  I  was  tempted  to  reject  the  Bible  entirely. 
But  I  could  not  do  it.  I  examined  my  heart,  the  Bible 
and  the  history  of  my  people,  and  the  result  was,  that  I 
could  not  reject  the  Bible. 

Doubting  whether  I  should  reject  all  belief  in  super- 
natural things,  and  give  up  the  Bible,  according  to  the 
infidel  principle  in  which  I  am  posted,  I  met  that  old 
man  who  is  commonly  known  under  the  name  of  "  Wan- 
dering Jew."  I  spoke  to  him  about  the  troubles  of  my 
heart  and  mind.  "  It  is  pretty  hard  to  believe  anything 
against  reason,  against  science,"  said  I.  "  Science  is 
exact  and  sure,  you  can  rely  on  it,  but  supernatural 
things  always  seem  to  be  doubtful.  We  must  always 
prefer  a  certain  thing  to  an  uncertain.  How  can  a  man 
believe,  in  this  enlightened  century,  after  such  heroes  of 
the  scientific  world.  If  anybody  does  believe,  he  is  con- 
sidered a  fool  or  a  hypocrite.  '  Attend  to  your  business,'' 
is  the  common  motto  of  every  one  of  my  people.  I  am 
4 


46  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

especially  very  much  troubled  now  about  the  new  method 
of  using  the  Bible.  According  to  the  latest  discoveries, 
for  example,  the  Bible  ought  to  be  taken  quite  differently 
from  the  way  in  which  they  used  to  take  it.  They  used 
to  take  it  as  it  is,  now  the  world  is  advanced ;  they  have 
meat  extract,  and  milk  extract,  and  they  also  have  Bible 
extract. 

"  That  l^ible  extract  is  a  very  saleable  article  in  this 
country,  and  also  in  Germany.  Our  people,  the  Jews, 
buy  it.  They  do  not  use  it,  but  they  pay  for  it.  Every 
Jew  in  this  country  speaks  of  it ;  they  call  it  also  reform. 
They  mostly  import  it  from  Germany.  There  is  a  man 
there,  a  wholesale  spiritual  druggist  and  chemist ;  his 
name  is,  translated  into  English,  'Fiddler.'  He  is  a 
splendid  spiritual  chemist;  by  chemistry  he  can  make 
almost  every  spiritual  thing ;  and  he  sells  it  for  genuine. 
He  makes  religion  and  manufactures  history.  Many 
who  understand  the  business  accuse  him  of  using  a  sur- 
rogate, called  hypothesis,  for  history.  He  recommends 
the  extract  of  Bible  highly. 

"  Also  in  this  country  there  are  manufacturers  of  ex- 
tract of  Bible,  and  they  say  it  all  agrees  with  science, 
and  the  beauty  of  it  is,  it  gives  those  who  take  it  no 
trouble  whatever.  The  shops  where  Bible  extract  is 
sold  are  only  open  on  Saturday.  You  know  this  is  the 
business  day.  Almost  all  the  Jews  pay  their  money,  but 
do  not  even  take  the  trouble  to  go  and  look  at  the  article. 
They  call  it  humbug,  themselves,  and  still  pay  for  it. 
When  you  ask  them,  '  If  Bible-extract  is  humbug,  why  do 
you  pay  for  it  .^  why  do  you  not   rather  buy  Bible  by  the 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  47 

pound?'  they  answer  you,  'Bible  by  the  pound  is  out 
of  fashion ;  we  want  to  be  fashionable  according  to  the 
time,  and  are  Reformers.' 

"  Honest  dealers  in  Bible  by  the  pound  are  rare,  but 
there  are  plenty  selling  the  extract.  There  are  very  many 
of  them  unfit  for  the  business,  and  have  a  bogus  article. 
Many  never  learned  the  business,  but  because  they  can 
sing  a  little,  or  they  have  a  good  pronunciation,  and 
wear  spectacles,  or  because  they  understand  French  or 
another  language,  they  think  they  are  able  to  manufac- 
ture and  sell  extract  of  Bible.  Their  own  customers 
trouble  them  awfully,  for  they  neither  respect  them  nor 
their  article.  If  a  little  dealer  has  sixty  customers, 
every  one  wants  an  article  of  his  own,  and  usually  a  cus- 
tomer who  does  not  understand  the  goods  can  never 
be  satisfied;  and  those  able,  genuine  little  dealers 
suffer  more  trouble  than  the  one  with  his  singing,  spec- 
tacles and  French.  You  have  no  idea  what  the  poor  ex- 
tract seller  suffers  from  his  customers.  If  he  is  not  plia- 
ble, like  a  Jesuit,  but  does  stick  to  a  principle,  then  he 
is  surely  lost.  The  customers  do  not  care  for  a  real 
honest  man,  but  he  must  please  them.  The  dealer  again 
despises  the  customers  in  return,  and  suffers  everything 
from  them,  so  long  as  they  pay. 

"  There  are  also  some  leading  men  in  that  business, 
the  most  of  whom  are  able,  and  they  mainly  work  for 
fame,  for  they  are  extremely  ambitious  and  want  great 
names.  So  they  are  very  jealous  and  hateful  to  one 
another,  always  in  the  name  of  the  Almighty.  They  all 
sell   a   manufactured   article;    none   gives    Bible  by  the 


48  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

pound,  and  still  every  one  most  zQ^Xously  protests  against 
the  article  offered  by  the  others.  What  is  the  difference^ 
if  none  is  genuine? 

"Well,  excuse  me,  Mr.  Wandering  Jew,  for  getting  off 
my  topic.  I  thought  it  might  interest  you,"  continued  I, 
"but  I  want  you  to  give  me  your  candid  opinion  about 
believing  supernatural  things  and  miracles.  I  am  in- 
clined not  to  believe  at  all,  and  since  that  Bible-extract 
flourishes,  people  do  not  believe  any  way.  Why  should 
we  deceive  ourselves.  Rather  let  us  give  up  every- 
thing." 

Old  Mr.  Wandering  Jew  smiled,  and  then  looked  seri- 
ously ;  he  looked  in  my  face  and  I  saw  something  like 
pearls  in  his  eyes.  "My  son,"  said  he, — he  always  calls- 
me  "  son  "  and  I  love  him  like  a  father.  "  My  son,  thou 
knowest  me  well,  dost  thou.'*" 

"  Certainly  I  know  you,"  I  replied,  weeping.  "  Your 
language  is  my  language,  your  people  are  my  people ; 
you  are  my  bone  and  my  flesh.  Your  name  was  dear  to 
me  from  my  childhood.  I  learned  to  love  you  from  my 
cradle.  I  love  you  more  dearly  than  my  own  life.  You 
are  suffering,  poor  old  man.  I  wish  I  could  give  my  life 
a  ransom  for  you,  dear  old  man.  You  have  such  a  kind,, 
noble  heart,  and  look  so  venerable,  but  still  are  sufferings 
restless  and  low." 

"  Be  quiet,  my  son  ;"  answered  he,  "  wipe  thy  tears,  and 
let  me  tell  thee  my  own  story.  The  story  of  my  life  will 
teach  enough  about  what  men  ought  to  believe. 

"  I  am  old,  very  old,  and  have  seen  different  days,  and 
expect    a    glorious    future    yet.      But    my    sorrows    and 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  49 

troubles  are  not  undeserved.  I  am  the  son  of  a  noble- 
man ;  my  blood  is  the  purest  and  noblest  on  earth.  I 
was  brought  up  under  the  special  care  of  the  mightiest 
king  of  the  world,  and  even  to-day  he  protects  me  and  often 
saves  me  from  entire  destruction,  when  I  am  attacked  by 
enemies.  This  king  loves  me,  for  my  father's  sake;  my 
'  father  belonged  to  his  court  and  was  a  most  faithful 
servant. 

"One  day  the  king  made  me  a  present;  a  very  pre- 
cious present  it  was.  Though  it  is  neither  gold  nor 
silver,  nothing  of  pecuniary  value,  yet  still  it  is  of  the 
greatest  blessing.  It  is  the  simple,  spiritual  food  you 
spoke  about,  the  Bible ;  not  in  extract,  but,  as  you  call  it, 
by  the  pound.  The  king  told  me  that  if  I  should  use  it 
pure,  unadulterated,  it  would  give  me  everlasting  happi- 
ness. I  promised  to  do  so.  But  alas  I  I  often  neglected 
the  king's  command,  and  ate  the  food  of  my  neighbor, 
and  came  to  trouble ;  until  the  king  got  tired  of  my  con- 
duct and  drove  me  from  the  land.  Again  he  had  com- 
passion with  me  and  let  me  return.  After  I  was  home 
again  I  never  went  after  other  meals  to  leave  Bible  en- 
tirely out,  but  I  adulterated  the  Bible.  I  mixed  and 
seasoned  it  with  what  people  call  traditions.  That 
article  does  not  grow,  but  it  is  manufactured.  I  also 
mixed  with  it  ordinances,  to  give  it  strength. 

"  In  short,  I  so  prepared  Bible  that  it  tasted  no  more 
like  Bible,  but  it  became  a  hash,  called  Talmud ;  no 
longer  to  be  recognized  as  Bible.  Many  people  disputed 
the  propriety  of  using  Bible  at  all,  for  there  were  always 
philosophers  making  spiritual  food  according  to  science, 


5©  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

and  they  called  Bible  old  fashioned  food.  But  I  never 
cared  for  their  talk,  as  I  received  the  Bible  from  that 
great,  faithful  king  myself.  Now,  in  consequence  of  my 
using  that  Talmud  hash  my  constitution  changed  and  I 
became  bad.  The  king  sent  servants  to  exhort  me  but  I 
maltreated  and  even  killed  the  servants  and  did  a  great 
deal  of  mischief.  The  result  was  that  the  king  drove  me 
away  from  home ;  and  so  I  am  a  wanderer  ever  since. 

"  My  troubles  were  beyond  imagination.  People  used 
me  cruelly  and  tyranically;  they  mocked  and  scourged 
me,  imprisoned  and  burned  me ;  they  tortured  and 
plagued  me.  They  opened  my  veins  and  drank  my 
blood,  yes  the  very  blood  of  my  heart.  Any  other  living 
being  would  have  died  from  the  smallest  part  of  my  suf- 
ferings, but,  wonderfully  enough,  I  live,  and  shall  live. 
Is  not  my  existence  supernatural  ?  It  is  that  very  Bible, 
although  I  use  but  little  of  it,  which  cures  me  and  keeps 
me  alive.  As  long  as  there  is  a  grain  of  Bible  in  me  I 
cannot  die,  and  the  king  promised  me  a  glorious  future. 

"  Now,  my  son,  mark  this  :  whenever  you  are  tempted 
not  to  believe  the  supernatural  power  of  the  Bible,  think 
of  me.  If  there  was  no  supernatural  power  in  the  Bible, 
my  bones  would  long  ago  have  rotted  in  an  unknown 
grave.  These  very  men  of  science  and  critics,  who  work 
to  make  Bible  extract,  would  reject  Bible  altogether  as 
old  fashioned,  as  the  world  has  done  with  many  old 
fashioned  things,  but  for  the  fact  that  a  supernatural 
power  holds  our  people  to  it,  even  if  they  do  not  use  it, 
and  do  not  follow  the  king's  will.  Look  at  me,  and  use 
the  Bible.     I  testify  to  its  genuineness,  and  my  troubles^ 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  5 1 

and  the  most  wonderful  preservation  of  my  life,  are  the 
unanswerable  evidence. 

"  Science  has  nothing  to  do  with  supernatural  things. 
I,  the  supernatural  man,  have  received  the  Bible  direct 
from  the  king,  and  the  world  got  it  through  my  hands. 
I  was  the  sole  agent  for  that  article.  Use  it,  and  think 
of  me  and  the  great  king." 

That  living  miracle,  Wandering  Jew,  went  his  way ;  I 
noticed  that  his  road  is  different  from  other  men's  roads. 
He  seems  to  be  led  by  something  invisible,  for  such 
roads  nobody  but  he  can  pass.  He  overcomes  all  obsta- 
cles and  leaps  over  precipices,  swims  through  rivers  of 
blood,  and  crosses  lakes  and  oceans.  He  is  a  marvelous 
man.  Who  can  reject  the  Bible  after  looking  at  Wander- 
ing Jew.?  And  everybody  sees  that  wonderful  man, 
every  one  knows  him ;  his  way  is  marked  in  the  annals  of 
history  ever  since  history  began  its  record. 


52  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  I 


CHAPTER  VI. 
THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 

"  A  new  heart  also  will  I  give  you,  and  a  new  spirit  will  I  put  within  you,  and  I 
will  take  away  the  stony  heart  out  of  your  flesh,  and  I  will  give  you  a  heart  of 
flesh.  And  I  will  put  my  spirit  within  you  and  cause  you  to  walk  in  my  statutes, 
and  ye  shall  keep  my  judgments,  and  do  them.  "  Ez.  xxxvi :  26,  27. 

It  is  obvious  that  Wandering  Jew's  history  is  the  most 
forcible  evidence  in  behalf  of  the  Bible,  but  how  could  I 
really  believe,  as  there  is  a  law  in  the  Bible,  and  that  law 
is  surrounded  by  Rabbis  with  their  Talmud  ?  Could  I  be- 
come an  orthodox  Jew  again  ?  I  would  not  reject  the 
Bible,  nor  would  I  really  accept  it  on  account  of  a  law 
being  no  remedy  for  my  heart.  For  if  I  did  accept  the 
law,  with  the  Talmud  or  without  it,  I  knew  from  experi- 
ence that  law  does  not  make  happy.  If  I  even  do  be- 
lieve the  Bible,  and  take  it  as  God's  Word,  I  do  not  find 
the  solution  of  the  problem  of  life;  my  heart  and  soul  suf- 
fer as  before,  notwithstanding  the  Bible.  I  was  in  perfect 
despair. 

So  I  lived  for  a  time  without  any  hope  of  finding  rest. 
I  feared  that  I  should  become  crazy,  or  commit  suicide. 
Daily  I  became  more  restless,  my  passionate  temper  grew 
worse,  my  uneasiness  increased.     My  sole  aim  was  to  get 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  53 

the  question  of  religion  out  of  my  mind.  But  while  I 
was  hopeless,  Providence  had  other  plans  for  me. 

By  accident  I  happened  to  read  the  New  Testament. 
I  formerly  had  read  it,  but  with  the  same  spirit  as  I  would 
read  a  novel.  I  admired  Christ's  character  as  a  man. 
His  teachings,  mildness  and  sufferings  tended  to  pacify 
my  soul.  I  never  thought  of  the  possibility  of  my  becom- 
ing converted.  Who  would  think  of  such  a  thing.?  I  con- 
sidered myself  too  acute,  too  wise  to  believe  such  impos- 
sibilities. Indeed,  I  pitied  a  Christian  for  his  belief,  and 
despised  a  converted  Tew  beyond  anything.  A  Jew  thinks 
it  is  impossible  for  an  intelligent  man  to  believe  Chris- 
tianity, and  suspects  all  intelligent  Christians  of  not  being 
sincere,  especially  the  Christian  ministers.  It  is  com- 
monly supposed  that  a  Jew  never  confesses  Christianity 
but  for  base  motives,  as  he  cannot  possibly  believe. 

Neither  was  I  directly  prompted  to  believe.  I  did  not 
■even  think  of  the  Christian  articles  of  belief.  But  the 
words  and  the  life  of  Christ  impressed  me  more  deeply 
than  ever  before.  Every  word  he  said  found  its  echo  in 
my  heart ;  in  his  life  I  saw  the  only  way  to  be  good,  to 
be  relieved  of  troubles,  the  misery  of  heart  and  soul.  I 
was  miserable,  restless,  I  did  not  know  why ;  conse- 
quently I  could  find  no  way  of  relief.  In  him  I  saw  a 
perfect  man  ;  nothing  can  make  him  miserable ;  why  ? 
Because  he  is  entirely  given  to  God.  Therefore  I  saw 
that  my  misery  must  be  on  account  of  my  being  so  far 
away  from  God.  My  eyes  were  opened.  I  saw  I  was 
sinning,  not  on  account  of  the  law,  not  because  I  did 
not  keep  certain  things,  but  on  account  of  my  life ;  my 


54  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

whole  being,  my  inner  part,  my  heart,  my  soul,  my 
thoughts  and  my  words,  my  motives  and  principles,  my 
all,  not  being  prompted  by  subjection  to  God,  but  by 
self.  I  found  too  much  "  I  "  about  me.  My  conception 
of  sin  changed  entirely.  I  saw  that  men  do  not  only 
commit  sins,  but  live  them.  I  found  that  I  could  live  a 
sin  while  doing  nothing  wrong.  The  sin  comes  out  of  my 
own  self.  Every  thing  I  want,  I  desire,  makes  me  miser- 
able, for  the  want  and  the  desire  are  of  "  self,"  while  I 
ought  to  be  subjected  to  the  "All."  Also  the  objects  of 
the  desires  are  perishable,  and  there  is  something  eternal 
in  man,  which  needs  things  eternal  for  its  satisfaction. 
Depending  on  myself,  my  heart  revolted  on  account  of 
every  unfulfilled  desire,  and  I  was  restless,  and  a  rebel 
against  the  source  of  all  being,  God.  Now,  the  Bible  is 
the  word  of  God,  and  still  could  not  help  me  out  of  my 
troubles,  because  it  only  told  me  what  to  do,  and  not 
what  I  should  be.  My  deeds  cannot  satisfy  me  because 
they  are  my  deeds,  and,  as  I  said,  I  felt  that  the  sin  is 
not  so  much  in  my  doings  as  in  my  being,  in  the  center 
of  my  heart.  I  am  in  enmity  with  God  because  I  am 
"  I,"  a  separate  individuality  from  the  "All,"  which  is. 
God.  And  peace  is  only  in  the  harmony  with  the  "All," 
therefore  in  the  subjection  to  God.  The  very  conscious- 
ness of  the  earthly  "self"  is  rebellion  against  God;, 
therefore  selfishness  excludes  love,  for  love  is  the  some- 
thing which  makes  all  One.  Thus  the  word  "mono- 
theism "  is  the  best  translated  with  "love."  But  Christ, 
showed  me  how  to  get  rid  of  sinful  self  by  subjecting  it. 
to  God.      When   I  have  offered  myself  entirely  to  Him. 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CKRISTIANITY.  55: 

nothing  can  trouble  me  any  longer.  If  I  go  to  the- 
source  of  all  being  and  learn  to  love  Him  and  let  His- 
will  be  mine,  then  how  can  anything  disturb  my  happi-- 
ness,  while  I  know  that  whatever  befalls  me,  whatever  is,, 
is  His  will,  as  He  is  the  source  of  everything.  If  I  am 
satisfied  with  God,  then  I  am  satisfied  with  everything,, 
for  He  is  everything.  There  is  an  everlasting  consola- 
tion,  for   the   most  lovely  Christ  suffered  so   much  andi 

still  He    is He.     There  is  an  everlasting  hope,, 

which  is  God. 

So  by  reading  the  New  Testament  my  heart  gradually- 
changed.  I  not  only  found  the  way,  but  also  the 
strength,  to  be  better.  The  thought  of  God,  the  feeling- 
of  His  presence,  goodness  and  love,  which  anybody  must 
perceive  in  contemplating  Christ,  gave  me  the  strength 
to  surrender  everything  for  God,  I  partly  lost  my 
peevishness  and  hot  temper.  There  was  something  to^ 
tame  me.  There  came  over  me  a  mildness,  through 
looking  at  the  mildness  of  Christ.  I  became  quieter,, 
calmer.  If  anything  happened  to  irritate  me  I  thought 
of  Christ ;  in  any  trouble  and  suffering  I  thought  of  his 
troubles  and  sufferings.  The  God  of  Israel,  that  re- 
vealed mysterious  God  of  holiness,  who  dwelt  in  the 
Cherubim  in  the  midst  of  a  chosen  people,  became- 
something  more  of  a  reality  to  me.  I  was  the  more- 
enabled  to  believe  in  a  God  of  miracles,  since  Christ  was. 
devoted  and  subjected  to  that  God.  The  result  of  the- 
perfect  belief  and  subjection  to  that  God,  I  saw,  was  a^ 
character  like  that  of  Christ ;  consequently  I  found  that 
belief  in  the   Bible  can  give  perfection,  and  happiness,. 


,56  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

and  peace  of  soul.  The  belief  of  the  Orthodox  Jew 
never  kindled  my  heart  to  believe  and  to  love ;  I  even 
despised  the  Jewish  orthodoxy.  I  never  found  that  the 
Jewish  orthodox  belief  could  make  the  man  better. 
Thus  I  went  astray  and  became  a  Reformer.  But  here  I 
•saw  that  belief  can  make  one  something  like  Christ.  I 
could  see  a  purpose  in  believing,  namely,  subjection  to 
and  peace  with  God.  I  always  believed  in  God,  but  the 
life  of  Christ  impressed  me  so  as  to  engage  my  mind 
seriously  and  incessantly  with  Him.  I  always  be- 
lieved with  my  mind  ;  but  Christ's  example  enabled 
me  to  believe  with  my  heart.  I  also  received  an- 
other, milder  conception  of  God.  God  became  the 
object  of  my  love.  I  found  that  I  never  could  love  God 
before.  Maimonides  and  all  Jewish  philosophers  and 
moralists  say  that  a  man  must  strive  to  love  God ;  as  to 
love  God  is  the  highest  measure  of  a  religious  life. 
Their  precept  for  attaining  that  measure  is  to  be  a  per- 
fect Talmudist,  and  especially  to  keep  everything  of  the 
rabbinical  codex  without  fail ;  and  then  they  say  it  is 
necessary  to  be  a  great  philosoper  and  to  comprehend 
God's  mysteries.  In  short,  they  say  it  is  necessary  to  be 
very  highly  learned  in  order  to  love  God.  Learning  is 
the  way  of  perfection.  I  had  kept  the  codex  and  had 
learned  a  little.  Yet  neither  the  keeping  of  the  law  nor 
the  little  learning  ever  brought  my  heart  nearer  to  the 
God  of  Israel,  nor  did  it  enable  me  to  become  better 
and  govern  my  passions,  or  to  love  God.  But  now  I  felt 
that  I  could  love  God.  Christ's  life  taught  me  how  to 
do  every  thing  which  I  could  not  do   before.     All  I  had 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  57- 

to  do  was  to  imitate  Christ,  and  he  drew  me  by  his 
example.  I  never  thought  yet  of  accepting  the  Christian, 
belief,  I  had  not  the  least  idea  of  doing  it ;  but,  in  place 
of  pitying  a  Christian  for  his  belief,  I  commenced  to  envy 
him  for  it.  I  found  that  he  is  happy  to  be  born  a  Chris- 
tian and  able  to  believe. 

All  those  with  whom  I  was  in  daily  intercourse  no- 
ticed that  a  singular  change  had  come  over  me.  My 
mother  remarked  to  me  that  she  saw  a  help  of  God,  as  I 
seemed  to  become  a  better  and  quieter  man.  I  never- 
noticed  so  much  of  my  change  as  others  did. 

Deep  sighs  came  out  of  my  breast,  but  they  were  no- 
longer  the  sighs  of  misery,  but  of  contrition.  I  longed, 
and  yearned,  but  I  knew  that  it  was  for  my  Creator.. 
God  engaged  now  not  only  my  mind,  but  also  my  heart. 
I  pressed  nearer  to  Him  in  love. 

At  the  same  time,  I  found  it  strange  that  Christ  was  so 
much  misunderstood  in  Israel.  As  I  realized  that  Christ 
was  the  holiest  man,  the  one  nearest  to  God  of  all  men, 
who  ever  lived ;  as  his  whole  aim  and  life  was  to  do  the 
will  of  his  Father  in  heaven,  and  his  Father  in  heaven  is 
the  God  of  Israel,  why  do  Israel  consider  him  as  the  ene- 
my of  their  religion  ?  While  I  found  Him  to  be  the  purest 
being,  my  orthodox  people  look  upon  him  and  his  church 
as  the  source  of  spiritual  uncleanness.  Since  he  teaches 
such  a  subjection  to  the  one  God  of  Israel  and  draws  to^ 
Him  by  love,  and  imbues  the  heart  of  his  disciples  with 
such  a  love  for  that  God,  how  is  it  that  his  disciples  are 
of  the  Gentiles,  and  Israel  is  without  that  principle  of 
Christ  which   seemed   to   me  the  only  way  to   God  ?     I 


"5^  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

•could  no  longer  doubt  that  true  Christians  must  be  a 
good  deal  happier  and  nearer  to  God  than  a  man  can  be 
with  every  shape  of  Judaism.  Christianity  teaches  God, 
and  I,  with  all  my  people,  always  considered  it  to^be  the 
world,  the  flesh,  with  a  few  dogmas.  I  saw  that  Christ's 
doctrine  is  necessary  for  man's  happiness,  and  how  is  it 
that  Christ  is  not  considered  our  greatest,  dearest 
prophet  ?  The  Jews  are  undoubtedly  a  chosen  people, 
but  I  always  thought,  and  so  every  single  Jew  thinks, 
that  everything  is  not  right  in  Israel.  Every  Jew  com- 
plains about  the  Jews,  and  finds  fault  with  them.  The 
-very  fact  that  Christ  is  so  misunderstood  l)y  the  Jews, 
and  considered  unclean,  is  a  proof  that  the  Jews  must  be 
wrong  in  the  matter  of  religion. 

How  is  it  possible  that  a   man   should   influence  the 

world  so   much,   and  destroy  so  many  religions   of  the 

heathen,  without  any  supernatural  power.?     Why  do  all 

Uhe  civilized  world  accept  Christ's  religion,  and  through 

rthat  the  Jewish  Bible,  while  the  Jews  refuse  Christianity, 

and,  as  they  say,  on  account  of  that  very  Bible,  and   still 

'do  not   live  in    accordance  with  it?     How  is   it  possible 

that  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament  should  not  have 

pure  motives  when  they  taught  such  elevating  morals.? 

Such  questions  arose  in  my  mind  c^nd  caused  me  very 
much  thought  without  any  result;  but  I  daily  got 
stronger  in  my  convictions  that  I  cannot  be  good  and 
happy,  that  I  cannot  find  peace  and  rest  of  soul,  without 
Christ  and  his  teachings,  for  he  is  the  only  one  leading 
to  God.  It  is  very  natural,  also,  that  the  farther  I  felt 
anyself  from  God,  and  the  deeper  I  was  convinced  of  my 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  59 

sinfulness,  the  more  admiration,  thankfulness  and  love  I 
felt  for  the  one  who  showed  me  the  way  and  led  me  to 
God  by  his  own  life  and  sufferings.  Moreover,  as  my 
reason  could  not  find  the  solution  of  the  above  ques- 
tions, I  had  to  give  myself  entirely  up  to  that  One  who 
can  make  me  happy.  So  I  thought  no  more,  but  felt.  I 
cared  no  more  to  know  anything.  I  despised  my  own 
reason.  For  after  I  saw,  that  with  all  his  thinking,  with 
all  modern  discoveries,  and  with  all  the  joys  of  earth,  a 
man  could  be  so  very  miserable,  and  in  an  entirely  self- 
denying  life,  like  Christ's,  there  was  such  a  delight,  such 
a  perfection,  such  an  ineffable  loveliness  and  happiness, 
what  good  could  my  reason  afford  me  then  ?  My  reason 
always  told  me  that  Christianity  was  idolatry ;  but  how 
could  I  believe  that  an  idolatrous  religion  could  draw  to 
the  one  God  of  Israel  so  much.?  I  could  no  longer 
doubt  that  if  one  is  a  true  Christian  he  surely  fears  and 
loves  the  God  of  Israel  more  than  any  Israelite  in  the 
world  was  able  to  do.  Now,  since  I  saw  that  the  object 
of  Christianity  was  the  fear  and  love  of  God,  and  I  had 
more  belief  in  the  Bible  and  less  confidence  in  reason,  I 
began  to  doubt  whether  it  was  not  a  mistake  to  consider 
Christianity  idolatry.  I  knew  many  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture which  the  Christians  cite  in  evidence  of  Chris- 
tianity ;  but  as  I  was  sure  Christianity  must  be  idolatry, 
any  answer  of  the  Jews  and  other  unbelievers  satisfied 
me,  I  even  used  to  say  that  some  passages  must  mean 
Christ,  but  if  a  prophet  teaches  Christianity  I  do  not 
believe  him  either ;  for  I  considered  Christianity  to  be 
idolatry.     But   now  these  Scripture  passages  caused  me 


6o  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

many  a  pang.  A  year  before  I  had  already  preached  in 
the  synagogue  that  many  Gentiles  were  better  than  the 
Jews.  How  near  then  was  the  thought  to  me  that  the 
Jews  might  be  mistaken,  and  ought  to  accept  Chris- 
tianity. How  painful  are  such  thoughts  to  a  Jew,  who 
has  all  his  life  despised  a  converted  Jew  more  than  any- 
thing. At  the  same  time  I  did  not  as  yet  see  how  Chris- 
tianity was  not  idolatry.  As  I  said,  I  did  not  want  to 
think  any  more,  but  resolved  to  imitate  Christ.  Until 
one  day,  tired  and  weak,  looking  for  spiritual  and  bodily 
rest,  and  thinking  of  my  worldly  and  spiritual  troubles, 
I  looked  up  to  God  and,  after  a  deep  sigh,  said  invol- 
untarily, "Jesus  Christ,  my  Redeemer."  I  was  aston- 
ished at  myself.  I  felt  as  if  I  was  coming  out  of  myself, 
and  becoming  another  man.  For  a  moment  I  feared 
that  I  was  out  of  my  reason,  but  was  still  more  astonished 
at  the  great  delight  the  words  gave  me.  They  were 
sweet  to  my  mouth,  a  balm  to  my  heart,  and  light  to  my 
eyes.  It  was  to  me  an  entirely  giving  up  of  myself  and 
believing  God,  without  regard  to  mind  or  understanding. 
I  was  satisfied  that  Christ  was  my  Redeemer,  no  matter 
if  I  understood  it  or  not.  I  surrendered  the  arms  of 
rationalism  before  God,  and  in  that  I  felt  that  my  spir- 
itual troubles  were  taken  from  me,  for  I  cast  myself  en- 
tirely upon  God.  It  is  no  little  sacrifice  for  a  Jew,  espe- 
cially a  minister  and  a  rationalist,  to  accept  Christianity, 
even  in  his  own  heart;  the  belief  in  the  cross  is  a  cross 
for  the  body  and  mind,  it  is  the  deepest  humiliation  be- 
fore God,  it  is  sorely  self-denying 

I   repeated  the  words,  "  Jesus  Christ,  my  Redeemer," 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  6l 

many  a  time,  for  they  gave  me  much  delight.  A  voice 
in  my  heart  asked  me  whether  I  wanted  to  be  an  idolater; 
I  had  only  the  answer  that  it  could  not  be  idolatry,  as  I 
knew,  and  consequently  God  knows,  that  I  only  meant 
to  do  the  will  of  the  One  God  of  Abraham,  and  that  is 
all  Christianity  wants  me  to  do.  I  also  thought  of  the 
Scripture  passages  which  predict  Christ,  and  saw  that 
there  was  no  necessity  to  accept  queer  interpretations 
when  the  simple  meaning  of  Scripture  so  perfectly 
agrees  with  what  I  felt  and  knew  was  true,  and  leading 
to  God.  Indeed,  I  knew  that  I  now  really  believed  the 
Old  Testament  and  saw  that  it  was  a  gift  of  God  ;  now  I 
understood  its  aim.  I  also  felt  that  I  really  did  love 
God  as  a  Father,  in  a  w^ay  I  never  could  before. 

I  never  realized  what  the  aim  of  religion  was  until  I 
felt  that  I  was  reconciled  to  God  through  the  belief  in 
Christ.  Now  I  understood  that  it  was  worth  having  a 
religion,  and  that  its  aim  to  reconcile  to  God  is  a  reality. 
I  felt  it,  I  saw  it.  It  appeared  to  me  now  as  the  only  aim; 
of  the  Old  Testament;  and  my  joy  at  finding  that  aim 
was  beyond  description.  I  could  perceive,  now,  how 
David  found  such  a  delight  in  loving  God.  As  I  found 
that  Christ  was  true,  I  also  found  my  sins  were  covered  in 
his  love;  I  felt  less  of  my  selfishness  in  loving  his  self- 
lessness. There  is  a  pardon  unto  eternal  life  in  loving  his 
life.  In  finding  that  in  his  life  lies  the  life  of  the  world,  I 
consequently  also  realized  that  I  had  been  under  the  sen- 
tence of  death  before.  Thus  a  culprit  pardoned  under  the 
gallows  cannot  feel  such  a  joy,  for  he  was  about  to  lose 
only  the  short  life  of  this  world.  And  this  assurance  of 
5 


/ 


62  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

being  pardoned  seems  to  me  to  be  a  supernatural  power 
influencing  the  heart.  It  is  a  feeling  of  safety  which  no 
reasoning  can  give  or  disturb.  And  as  this  feeling  of 
safety  and  joy  was  a  thing  I  never  anticipated,  it  made 
me  exceedingly  amazed.  It  is  really  wonderful.  I  per- 
ceived an  assurance  of  the  grace  and  love  of  God,  and 
realized  the  truth  of  religion,  as  if  God  had  spoken  to 
me  in  words. 

The  thought  of  being  redeemed  by  the  grace  of  God, 
and  by  a  way  which  I  always  used  to  consider  folly  and 
•even  idolatry,  engaged  my  mind  all  the  time  for  many 
Tveeks.  All  nature  seemed  to  me  changed  and  covered 
with  a  veil  of  poetry.  Sun,  moon  and  stars  seemed  to 
notice  me  and  to  look  at  me  with  smiling  glances,  re- 
joicing in  sympathy  over  my  redemption.  The  heavens 
■seemed  to  be  lowered  and  coming  nearer  to  me  ;  the  wind 
and  the  water  seemed  to  speak  to  me,  whispering  love. 
None  can  imagine  that  happiness  save  one  who  has  ex- 
perienced it ;  everything  looked  loving  and  lovely. 

I  shall  not  dwell  on  other  Christian  experiences,  for 
which  may  the  Lord  keep  my  heart  always  thankful. 
The  struggles  of  my  heart  before  God  gave  me  the 
courage  to  confess  Christ  publicly.  What  I  sacrificed, 
suffered  and  still  suffer,  I  shall  not  undertake  to  describe. 
The  Jews  do  not  believe  it  and  the  Christians  cannot 
imagine  it.  I  had  to  ruin  myself  concerning  this  world. 
I  made  my  name  a  subject  of  hatred  and  contempt.  The 
grief  I  caused  my  mother  and  nearest  relatives  is  harder 
than  death  for  me. 

My  attachment    and    hope  for   Israel    as   a  nation   is 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  6;^ 

Stronger  than  anybody  can  believe;  God  knows  how 
willingly  I  would  die  for  His  people  and  suffer  every- 
thing for  their  felicity.  It  is  truly  not  a  little  thing  to 
leave  a  circle  of  dear  friends,  and  to  go  among  strangers, 
to  be  a  subject  of  indifference  and  even  suspicion.  I 
stand  alone  in  the  world,  and  am  subjected  to  all  sorts 
of  abuses  and  derision.  Oh  I  I  am  alone,  alone,  forsaken 
and  shunned  by  men;  I  am  alone!  "Fear  not  the  re- 
proach of  men,  neither  be  afraid  of  their  revilings."  Is. 
li :  7.  I  have  lost  nothing,  after  all ;  for  this  world  I  shall 
overcome;  it  is  not  worth  grieving  for.  And  of  religion 
there  is  none  with  my  people.  Jewish  orthodoxy  is  ridic- 
ulous and  the  reform  an  arrogant  wickedness.  Would 
the  Jews  only  not  misunderstand  Christianity  they  would 
surely  accept  it.  One  who  would  do  the  will  of  God 
and  reads  the  Bible,  will  soon  find  out  who  sent  Christ 
into  the  world.  Christ  said,  "  My  doctrine  is  not  mine, 
but  his  that  sent  me.  If  any  man  will  do  his  will,  he 
shall  know  of  the  doctrine,  whether  it  be  of  God  or 
whether  I  speak  of  myself."     John  vii:  17. 

In  his  mind  a  man  can  never  be  converted  ;  if  the 
heart  does  not  search  the  truth  and  yearn  to  God  and 
change  entirely,  then  he  will  surely  never  see  the  truth. 
"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  except  a  man  be  born 
again,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God." 
John  iii :  3. 

From  what  I  have  stated,  it  is  obvious  that  I  was  not 
converted  because  I  found  out  that  Christianity  was 
in  agreement  with  my  reason,  but  because  I  discovered 
my  own  weakness,  and    felt  that  my  only  strength   is  in 


:>4  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

relief.  My  heart  was  restless  with  my  reasoning  and 
bund  rest  in  believing.  My  soul  languished ;  it  yearned 
"or  something  I  knew  not  myself.  In  Christ  I  found 
iving  water  for  my  thirst,  living  water  in  the  wilderness, 
md  I  could  not  refuse  it.  I  accepted  it  without  asking 
he  mind's  counsel.  Could  a  man  in  a  wilderness,  when 
he  is  near  perishing  with  thirst,  think  much  when  water 
s  offered  to  him  ?  I  found  the  world  cold,  empty  and 
lark,  and  the  only  light  is  with  the  God  of  Israel,  to 
vhom  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only  way.  I  embraced  Jesus 
:hrist's  religion  for  the  sake  of  the  God  of  the  Israel- 
tes,  who  is  the  God  of  Jesus;  for  no  other  reason.  I 
Lccepted  the  belief  when  I  could  no  longer  resist.  My 
leart  believed  before  my  mind  could,  until  thinking 
md  a  close  examination  of  Scripture  satisfied  the  mind 
)f  the  truth  of  Christianity,  as  I  shall  try  to  show  in  the 
ollowing  chapters. 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  65 


CHAPTER  VII. 
HUMAN  DEPRAVITY. 

*'  The  imagination  of  man's  heart  is  evil  from  his  youth."     Gen.  viii :  21. 

In  relating  my  experience  in  the  last  four  chapters,  I 
have  spoken  of  the  sufferings  of  the  human  heart,  Juda- 
ism and  Christianity  subjectively,  that  is,  according  to 
my  own  experience.  It  is  my  intention  now  to  treat  the 
same  topics  objectively,  and  more  extensively. 

It  is  an  indisputable  fact  that  every  human  heart  yearns 
after  a  something  unknown,  after  a  happiness  which  seems 
to  be  unattainable.  There  is  a  certain  ideal  aiming  with 
every  man,  of  which  he  has  no  clear  definition.  There 
is  a  consciousness  of  a  relationship  with  the  universe,  with 
the  unbounded  "All,"  a  kind  of  moral  magnetism,  at- 
tracting every  soul,  and  in  which  the  consciousness  of 
its  own  individuality  seems  to  be  weakened.  After  cer- 
tain sublime  perceptions,  men  often  feel  something  like 
a  desire  to  embrace  all  the  universe.  We  may  also  call 
it  an  insatiable  desire  to  love,  without  finding  the  object 
for  it,  for  we  see  that  even  the  most  tender  and  pure 
mutual  human   love  does  not  satisfy  that  desire  ;  on  the 


66  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

contrary,  increases  it.  This  yearning,  or  desire  to  love^ 
is  always  awakened  by  contemplating  the  beauty  and 
wisdom  which  are  manifested  in  creation.  A  beautiful 
landscape  seen  by  moonlight,  a  deep  glance  into  the 
starry  heavens,  often  elicits  sighs  of  longing.  Also  in 
man's  bereavements,  when  he  is  troubled  and  forsaken, 
his  ideal  longing  is  awakened,  and  his  heart  is  opened 
and  made  more  susceptible  of  that  hidden  and  covered 
love.  Every  man  pondering  and  meditating  upon  this 
finds  himself  dissatisfied,  even  unhappy,  for  he  finds  out 
that  he  wants  something  he  cannot  obtain. 

Nor  can  it  be  denied  that  man's  own  conscience  is  his 
perpetual  accuser.  Who  is  satisfied  with  himself.^  Who 
can  examine  his  own  heart  without  finding  reason  for 
complaint  and  sighs.?  Who  can  say,  "  lam  innocent"  > 
Where  is  the  man  who  has  no  reason  to  be  sorry  for 
some  of  his  thoughts,  feelings  and  actions  }  We  often 
even  try  to  be  good,  and  it  is  of  no  avail. 

The  consequence  is  a  fear  of  death,  for  who  can  die 
perfectly  satisfied  with  his  own  life,  without  pangs  of 
conscience  for  the  past,  without  fearing  what  is  to  come.'' 
Who  has  to  anticipate  only  good  fruit  from  what  he  has 
planted,  and  not  to  fear  the  poisonous  fruits  of  his  bad 
seeds.?  Even  if  some  say,  "I  do  not  know  what  is  to 
come,  and  therefore  do  not  trouble  myself  about  it," 
still  he  is  afraid  and  does  trouble  himself  about  the  future 
when  he  feels  it  approaching.  Man  feels  that  he  is  im- 
mortal, he  anticipates  something  after  death.  If  his 
head  denies  it,  his  heart  still  feels  it.  An  immortal  be- 
ing slumbers  in  every  human  breast.     What  would  con- 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  67 

science  be  if  there  was  no  future?  The  fact  that  man 
has  a  conscience  is  a  sufficient  proof  that  he  perceives 
his  responsibility  for  his  bad  deeds  in  a  future  life.  Con- 
science is  only  an  anticipation,  by  feeling,  that  a  judg- 
ment is  to  come.  If  there  was  no  future  and  judgment, 
then  conscience  would  be  only  a  foolish  spleen,  which  we 
ought  to  resist. 

What  we  have  said  about  man  is  enough  to  make  us 
conclude  that  he  is  born  to  be  unhappy ;  but  we  shall 
find  other  sources  of  human  unhappiness,  and  that 
through  his  weakness  his  unhappiness  increases  to 
misery.  "  No  man  dies  having  half  of  his  desires  ful- 
filled," is  a  true  proverb  of  the  Talmud.  There  is  not 
only  the  ideal  longing  disturbing  the  happiness  of  the 
heart,  but  the  everlasting,  insatiable  desire  for  earthly 
things  and  lusts  causes  the  deepest  misery.  Indeed,  the 
carnal  wishes  cause  far  more  trouble,  while  they  disturb 
the  peace  of  conscience. 

Men  chase  after  carnal  pleasures,  after  riches,  honor, 
and  sensual  charms.  To  reach  these  things  they  even 
do  many  things  wrong.  Conscience  pierces  them,  for 
they  know  their  wrong.  Who  does  not  love  the  truth  > 
but  who  is  perfectly  truthful  ?  If  one  finds  the  other 
untruthful  he  despises  him,  and  forgets  his  own  untruth- 
fulness. The  wrong  of  another  provokes  you ;  are  you 
yourselves  perfectly  just .? 

The  soul  says.  Do  no  wrong;  the  flesh  wants  its  lust; 
man  listens  to  the  flesh,  and  the  poor  soul  speaks  with 
the  voice  of  conscience. 

Soul  and  body  demand  meat  and  drink ;  man  responds 


68  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

to  the  body,  but  the  soul  is  left  hungry  and  thirsty.  "  What 
they  love  "  both  claim  ;  body  receives  its  desires,  and  poor 
soul  is  forsaken ;  alone  she  sits  in  a  corner  of  the  heart, 
and  sheds  hot  tears,  which  burn  like  live  coals,  and  kindle 
a  fire  in  the  breast,  and  man  understands  no  more  his 
soul's  wish;  he  does  not  recognize  the  voice  of  his 
dearest.  It  pants,  and  boils,  and  rages,  and  burns ;  man 
knows  not  what  he  wants.  Driven  by  a  restless  heart  he 
runs  into  the  wilderness,  that  we  call  world.  Here  he 
expects  to  find  cooling  and  rest  in  the  world's  goods. 
He  is  rich,  he  has  enjoyed  life.  Has  he  found  rest? 
Is  he  happy  .^  The  heart  is  hollow,  the  fire  has  increased, 
and  the  desire  is  stronger  after  living  water ;  but  he  mis- 
understands his  restlessness  and  runs  still  farther  into 
the  world.  In  place  of  cooling  water  for  a  languishing 
soul  he  takes  more  fiery  drinks.  And  he  is  never,  never 
satisfied.     The  more  he  has,  the  more  he  wants. 

So  years  of  enjoyment  pass  and  leave  no  satisfac- 
tion, but  a  hollow,  raging  heart,  and  a  soul  with 
stains  and  spots.  Past  enjoyments  are  like  a  past 
intoxication,  leaving  nothing  but  misery.  The  dis- 
honest hand  digs  its  fingers  deep  into  its  own  heart, 
when  taking  goods  unjustly;  in  speaking  falsehood  one 
breathes  a  stinking  fog  which  cleaves  to  the  soul;  sen- 
sual intoxication  causes  an  everlasting  spiritual  head- 
ache. Every  thing  springing  from  carnal  motives 
wounds  man's  spirit.  The  joy  of  the  body  is  the  sorrow 
of  the  soul,  the  uneasiness  of  the  heart.  The  insatiable 
flesh  leaves  the  soul  languishing. 

Man,    feeling    his    misery,    and   not   knowing  how  to 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  69 

remove  it,  tries  to  cover,  to  hide  it.  He  thinks  of  his  own 
imagined  or  real  merits  and  acquirements,  and  becomes 
conceited.  Then  he  wants  others  to  think  and  speak  of 
them  as  he  does,  and  is  vain.  The  more  lie  the  more 
vanity ;  the  more  inward  dirt  the  more  desire  for  out- 
ward shine.  So  he  not  only  says  lies,  but  acts  and  lives 
them. 

Now  comes  the  consequence  of  relying  on  vanities. 
The  world's  goods  are  not  equally  divided.  Riches, 
strength  and  beauty,  fame  and  honor,  even  gifts  like 
brain  and  talents,  science  and  arts  are  possessions,  and 
unequally  divided.  Some  gifts  are  acquired  in  the 
world,  and  some  are  given  by  nature.  The  learned  man 
is  not  a  better  man  on  account  of  his  learning  or  ability. 
The  doctor  is  not  justified  before  God  more  than  the 
laborer.  As  to  the  man's  real  "  I  "  every  one  is  alike, 
■every  thing  is  given  to  them.  Therefore,  in  his  individ- 
uality each  one  considers  himself  as  good  as  the  other. 
Man's  brain  and  talent  and  wisdom  leave  him  at  the 
hour  of  death,  as  well  as  his  riches  and  beauty.  So  the 
one  who  relies  on  perishable  gifts  has  reason  to  be 
jealous  and  to  envy  the  other.  Why  should  I  not  be  so 
rich,  so  honored,  so  famous,  so  smart  as  the  other }  The 
school  children  already  envy  and  hate  the  best  scholar; 
the  little  merchant  envies  and  hates  the  bigger  one.  The 
men  of  learning  exhibit  more  jealousy  and  hatred  the 
more  learned  and  the  better  known  they  become.  Am- 
bition, envy  and  hatred  prevail  among  the  famous  states- 
men, and  have  been  the  cause  of  many  wars. 

Fame,   an  immortal  name,  is   the   highest  attainment. 


70  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

But  the  immortal  name  cannot  make  you  happy,  as  it  is 
with  perishable  creatures.  It  is  an  honor  to  be  spoken 
well  of  by  men  ;  are  these  men  less  miserable  than  you 
are  ?  Can  things  perishable  give  everlasting  satisfaction  ? 
Therefore  the  rich,  the  honored  and  famous  men  are  as 
miserable  as  the  poor,  the  despised  and  the  unknown.  All 
around  us  are  whitened  sepulchers. 

If  what  I  have  said  about  men  is  true  (and  I  do  not 
believe  a  man  who  is  honest  with  himself  will  try  to  dis- 
pute it),  then  we  see  that  men  are  weak  and  do  not  listen 
to  the  voice  of  their  soul  until  they  know  no  more  what 
their  soul  wants.  It  is  obvious,  then,  that  the  cause  of 
human  misery  is  the  flesh,  and  as  no  one  can  resist  it  en- 
tir,ely,  therefore  no  one  has  a  perfectly  clear  conscience^ 
and  therefoje  death  is  a  terror  to  mankind.  Of  the  ob- 
ject of  man's  unknown  longing  and  love  we  shall  speak 
again  below. 

The  human  weakness  is  termed,  in  the  religious  lan- 
guage, "  human  depravity,  "  man's  moral  disease.  The 
power  of  the  flesh,  which  causes  it,  is  personified  and  called 
"  Satan.  "  Men  are  weak,  and  the  more  they  go  after  the 
flesh  the  less  they  can  resist  it ;  so  the  religious  man  says^ 
"  men  are  sinners.  "  Some  Jewish  Reformers,  not  deny- 
ing the  existence  of  such  experiences  as  we  have  describ- 
ed, say  this  is  religion:  Man's  perception  of  affinity  with 
the  "All,"  his  ideal  longing  and  anticipation  of  a  future, 
and  his  conscience,  are  the  religion  given  by  God.  They 
say  this  is  the  law  God  wrote  with  his  own  finger  in  every 
human  breast ;  this  is  revelation.  Thus  they  deny  every 
other  revelation.     So  I  used  to  say  myself,,  and  expressed 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  7 1 

it  through  the  "  Deborah.  "  This  is  the  principal  doc- 
trine of  the  radical  Reformers.  Truly  the  above  describ- 
ed experiences  of  the  human  heart  are  the  proof  that  man 
needs  a  religion,  that  he  has  a  propensity  for  it.  Man's 
conscience  and  ideal  longing  are  caused  by  the  voice  of 
his  soul,  and  show  that  he  is  susceptible  of  everything 
good,  and  yearns  after  it  without  attaining  it.  This  is  the 
symptom  of  the  moral  disease.  If  we  take  this  to  be  the 
religion,  then  we  take  the  sickness  for  the  medicine,  for 
the  cure  itself.  For  if  this  were  all  the  religion  God  gave^ 
so  that  He  gave  it  with  the  human  nature,  and  men  are 
born  with  their  religion,  then  it  ought  to  reconcile  us  with 
God,  and  give  us  a  feeling  of  safety  and  felicity  in  place 
of  terror  ;  it  ought  to  cause  joy  instead  of  misery.  Whaty, 
religion  a  gift  of  God,  to  make  man  miserable }  If  that 
is  religion,  then  the  animal  is  happier  without  any. 

Rationalists  say,  men  were  no  sinners,  there  is  no  hu- 
man depravity.  Religion  is  pretended  to  be  the  medicine 
for  a  spiritually  sick  mankind;  but  if  one  claims  not  ta 
be  sick,  then  he  wants  no  medicine.  God,  they  say,  could 
not  have  made  man  to  be  bad  ;  everything  which  is  i& 
good,  consequently  men  are  good  because  they  are.  They 
see  mankind  improving,  progressing  in  every  respect ;  so 
they  say  mankind  in  its  youth  needed  a  religion,  now  as. 
it  is  advanced  and  ripened  to  manhood  the  religion  be- 
comes superfluous.  How,  ask  they,  can  mankind  after 
it  has  reached  its  maturity  have  the  same  religion  which 
it  had  in  its  infancy }  Shall  the  man  believe  the  same 
thing  the  infant  did  }  Nobody  denies  that  mankind  pro- 
gresses.    The  human  race  must  undoubtedly  be  consid- 


72  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

ered  ripe  now,  if  compared  'to  what  it  was  in  early  ages 
The  human  race  has  really  advanced  and  changed.  But 
religion  is  not  given  to  mankind  as  a  collective  body,  but 
to  every  one  as  an  individual.  As  mankind  we  are  ad- 
vanced, as  single  men  we  have  surely  not  advanced  con- 
cerning our  individual  weakness,  sinning  and  responsibil- 
ity before  God.  Every  one  has  his  conscience  individu- 
ally, and  is  also  responsible  to  God  iox  Jiimself,  and  so  he 
was  five  thousand  years  ago.  The  relatioiiship  between 
God  and  man  has  not  changed.  We  perhaps  have  some 
civilized  weakness,  refined  sins,  and  sublime  wickedness, 
but  they  are  just  as  much  the  cause  of  the  soul's  misery 
as  the  weakness  and  sins  and  wickedness  of  the  old  bar- 
barians ;  on  the  contrary,  the  refined  man  may  consider 
himself  more  responsible.  As  God  is  immutable,  so  his 
relationship  with  men  can  not  be  changed.  How  can  we 
deny. human  misery.?  I  have  given  a  little  picture  of  the 
heart's  struggles  ;  who  can  dispute  it  }  And  it  is  a  pic- 
ture of  our  hearts  as  they  are  now,  in  spite  of  civilization. 
Look  at  your  heart;  look  at  the  world  around,  weak  and 
sick.  What  do  men  run  after  now  }  After  things  which 
make  them  miserable.  The  trouble  is  not  only  that  we 
cannot  reach  our  desires,  but  that  what  we  do  reach  does 
not  make  us  happy  ;  and  still  we  run  after  more.  Who  was 
ever  satisfied  with  v/hat  he  had  reached  "^  Who  became 
happy  on  acccount  of  the  fulfillment  of  the  lascivious- 
ness  of  his  heart  .'^  There  we  see  that  the  very  fulfilled 
wish  is  the  cause  of  our  misery,  exactly  the  same  as  it 
was  since  mankind  exists.  Where  is  the  progress,  then  ? 
You  say  you  are  not  sick  when  you  faint.      You  claim  to 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  75: 

have  courage,  while  you  tremble.  You  say  you  are  full 
of  health,  when  every  one  of  your  members  is  rotten. 
You  laugh  at  the  doctrine  of  human  depravity;  and  try 
to  prove  by  philosophy  that  men  are  good,  but  your  own 
heart  feels  its  own  misery.  If  even  your  head  has 
proved  that  men  are  good,  if  even  you  see  it  logically 
clear,  will  that  help  to  remove  the  heart's  misery.?  When 
you  lie  with  a  broken  leg,  and  the  doctor  comes,  and  in- 
place  of  curing  you,  proves  that  your  leg  is  perfectly  in 
order,  according  to  the  science  of  anatomy  :  the  doctor 
may  be  highly  learned,  and  his  treatise  about  your  leg- 
may  be  admired  by  all  the  universities  of  the  globe,  and 
every  doctor  may  say  he  was  right;  but  still  you  are 
tormented  by  pain,  your  leg  swells,  and  you  cannot 
stand  up.  So,  whenever  you  deny  your  spiritual  trouble, 
are  you  able  then  to  stand  straight  and  look  up  to  God  ? 
Do  you  expect  to  be  justified  before  your  everlasting. 
Father  by  your  deeds  ? 

Laugh  at  hell,  it  is  within  you.  Mock  at  Satan,  while 
he  ruins  you.  Say,  I  am  comfortable,  when  the  fire  con- 
sumes your  life.  Deny  the  Devil,  who  tortures  you  right 
here.  Hell,  and  fire,  and  Satan  and  his  devils  give  you 
a  foretasle  on  earth.  Sin  is  a  burning  spark  which  will; 
blaze  up  and  increase  to  a  flaming  fire.  That  emptiness 
of  your  heart  will  become  a  solitude  of  terror;  that 
coldness  increase  to  a  gnashing  of  teeth:  every  sting  of 
conscience  grows  into  a  furious,  poisonous  snake. 

If  here  on  earth,  where  your  individuality,  your  "I," 
is  composed  of  flesh  and  soul,  and  you  hardly  perceive 
the  existence'  of  your  soul,  still  you   can   conceive  that. 


74  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

your  soul  is  suffering — here,  where  you  live^  under  the 
intoxication  of  the  flesh ;  what  will  it  be  when  that  sleep 
which  we  call  death  has  removed  your  intoxication, 
when  you  are  undressed  of  the  perishable  garment,  and 
left  by  your  company,  and  your  soul  stands  naked,  and 
sober,  and  alone,  before  the  object  of  your  unknown 
love,  before  the  light,  and  life,  and  joy  of  the  world ;  be- 
fore that  pure  love,  that  living  truth,  before  the  Al- 
mighty God  ?  How  will  it  be  with  you  then  ?  Will  you 
look  with  pride  at  that  yellow  dirt  which  we  call  gold  ? 
Will  you  then  use  your  smartness  and  subtlety?  Will 
you  then  be  proud  of  your  nationality  ?  Will  the  ripened 
mankind,  with  its  civilization  and  culture ;  will  the 
progress  of  the  age,  the  science  of  the  learned ;  will  wis- 
dom and  beauty  and  power  and  influence  reconcile  you 
with  that  great,  sublime  and  glorious  simple  truth,  which 
is,  God  your  Maker  ? 

Your  life  sticks  to  you,  and  there  is  the  hell  with  its 
itortures.  You  can  see  it  from  here ;  it  is  the  natural  con- 
sequence of  your  life,  of  your  "human  depravity,"  at 
which  you  laughed.  The  belief  in  human  depravity  and 
the  resultant  hell,  is  therefore  reasonable,  rational. 

But  as  we  must  also  believe,  with  the  philosopher,  that 
everything  God  made  is  good ;  for  as  God,  the  source  of 
everything  is  absolutely  good,  everything  coming  out 
from  Him  must  be  good ;  so  I  believe  that  God  had  not 
made  man  to  be  a  sinner,  but  originally  he  must  have 
been  created  able  to  keep  the  balance  between  soul  and 
body.  Still,  we  see  man  bad,  and  we  must  conclude  that 
with  the  free  will  which  was  given  to  him,   he  fell.     So 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY,  75 

the  fall  into  sin  is  not  only  credible,  but  logically  it  must 
have  happened. 

The  Bible  relates  a  fall  into  sin  on  the  part  of 
Adam  and  Eve,  on  account  of  which  they  lost  Para- 
dise. Judaism  and  Christianity  derive  from  that  occur- 
rence the  corruption  of  the  race  of  Adam  and  Eve,  the 
cause  of  the  depravity. 

Some  reformed  Jews  maintain  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
fall  of  mankind,  originating  with  Adam  and  Eve,  by 
eating  the  forbidden  fruit,  is  an  exclusive  Christian  doc- 
trine. But  the  Talmud,  Midrash,  and  all  the  Rabbinical 
literature  are  full  of  the  same  teachings,  exactly  like  that 
of  the  Christians.  "  Chet  Adam  "  and  "Suhamah  shal 
Nachash  "  are  common  expressions  with  the  Rabbis.  We 
also  find  in  the  Rabbinical  literature  that  they  expected 
the  correction  of  Adam's  sin,  and  a  return  to  the  former 
state  of  innocence,  by  the  coming  of  the  Messiah.  I  am 
•entirely  without  books,  and  can  cite  nothing,  but  I  only 
.allude  to  the  Chaldaic  translations  of  the  Pentateuch 
(Thargumim)  of  Gen.  iii :  15  ;  where  they  interpret  to 
that  effect.  The  Bible  also  affirms  that  no  man  is  with- 
out sin.  But  Reformers  believe  only  those  parts  of  the 
Bible  which  suit  them.  Even  the  Jewish  philosophers 
of  the  Middle  Ages  hold  that  doctrine,  notwithstanding 
they  have  sometimes  been  rational  where  they  ought  to 
have,  been  believing,  as  I  said  in  my  first  chapter,  be- 
cause that  doctrine  is  essential  to  the  truth  of  religion, 
and  is  a  divine  truth. 

It  is  immaterial  what  the  Reformers  say,  but  genuine 
Judaism  teaches  that  on    account   of  this  world   being 


76  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

vain,  and  mankind  weak,  God  in  his  infinite  love  and 
mercy  has  revealed  himself  to  mankind  through  Israel. 
As  men,  on  account  of  their  flesh,  no  longer  know  the 
right  way  of  life,  as  they  no  longer  understand  the  voice 
of  their  souls,  God  gave  the  law  that  they  may  know  his. 
will  and  do  it  according  to  what  he  shows  them  in  his 
word.  At  the  same  time,  the  prophets  based  their  hope 
upon  a  future.  Besides  the  many  promises  of  glory  and 
salvation  through  a  king  of  the  house  of  David,  a 
servant  of  God,  there  was  also  promised  a  new  cove- 
nant, a  renewing  of  the  human  heart,  as  I  shall  show 
below  in  the  passages  of  Scripture  I  an>  to  cite.  The 
Talmud  also  bases  all  hope  for  Israel  and  mankind  on 
the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  when  the  law  would  nO' 
longer  be  necessary,  and  should  become  void.  They 
teach  "  Mizwoth  Beteloth  leathid  labo."  "The  com- 
mandments shall  be  void  in  the  future." 

From  what  we  have  said  in  this  chapter  we  see  that 
mankind  is  miserable  on  account  of  being  subjected  tO' 
the  powers  of  the  flesh,  and  therefore  in  enmity  with  its 
spirit,  with  God.  Consequently,  every  man  must  fear 
death  ;  for  his  conscience  makes  him  anticipate  a  judg- 
ment. Thus  man  wants  a  religion,  for  his  soul  seeks  a 
reconciliation,  an  atonement  with  God.  Atonement  is, 
therefore,  the  purpose  of  religion  ;  and  we  surely  need 
not  embrace  any  religion  for  secular  purposes.  Thus  if 
religion  shall  answer  its  purpose,  namely,  to  make  atone- 
ment with  God,  it  must  also  be  given  by  Him. 

Thus  far  we  see  that  our  own  hearts  feel  the  necessity 
of  a  religion.     But   in   connection  with   this   our  reason 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  77 

reminds  us  of  our  frailty  and  the  greatness  of  God.  We 
see  a  providence  of  God  in  history  and  in  our  own  life. 
We  see  his  wisdom  manifested  in  guiding  mankind  as 
well  as  our  own  selves,  while  we  perceive  our  own  blind- 
ness in  seeing  that  the  greatest  men  are  only  instruments 
in  the  hands  of  an  all-wise  Providence.  How  won- 
derful, how  incomprehensible  are  the  ways  of  Provi- 
dence !  How  much  wisdom,  how  intense  a  love,  are 
visible  in  its  guidance  of  mankind  and  also  of  every 
individual  man,  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave.  What  is- 
man's  wisdom  compared  with  that  of  Providence  ? 
What  are  our  best  contrived  plans  to  that  one  wonderful 
plan  of  history,  extending  from  the  birthday  of  mankind 
to  this  present  age.^  Must  we  not  bow  our  heads  inr 
humility  ?  Where  is  our  wisdom,  our  strength,  our 
glory  ?  And  what  a  wonderful  part  has  Providence 
assigned  to  that  one  book,  the  Bible,  to  play  in  that  his- 
tory !     And  this  Bible  offers  us  a  religion. 

We  have  also  seen  already  that  the  Jewish  Bible  has 
sure  evidences  of  its  divine  origin,  and  Judaism  claims- 
to  be  the  religion  according  to  the  Bible.  It  remains  now 
to  examine  whether  Judaism  is  according  to  that  Bible,, 
and  then  whether  it  answers  the  purpose  of  Religion, 
namely,  whether  it  gives  reconciliation  with  God  b^ 
bringing  us  nearer  to  him,  by  pacifying  our  conscience 
and  giving  of  moral  strength.  This  we  shall  do  in  the 
next  chapter. 


y8  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

JUDAISM, 

'■'■  For  the  children  of  Israel  shall  abide  many  days  without  a  king,  and  without  a 
prince,  and  without  a  sacrifice,  and  without  a  monument,  and  without  ephod  and 
theraphim,  "  Hosea  iii :   4. 

In  speaking  of  the  condition  of  our  souls,  and  our  re- 
sponsibility before  God,  in  the  last  chapter,  we  have  mov- 
ed in  exclusively  rational  spheres ;  that  is,  we  have  seen 
our  weakness  according  to  the  conception  of  our  reason, 
and  the  perception  of  our  heart,  without  any  dogma  to  be 
believed.  We  only  believe  in  human  depravity  because 
we  feel  it,  we  see  it ;  and  hence  we  perceive  our  desire, 
our  propensity  for  a  religion.  Thus  the  belief  in  God, 
immortality  of  the  soul  and  judgment,  that  is,  that  man 
has  to  stand  the  consequences  of  this  life  in  a  future 
world,  is  supposed  to  be  in  the  heart  of  every  human  "be- 
ing, which  is  not  too  much  hardened.  For  we  have  the 
revelations  of  nature,  history,  heart  and  conscience  testi- 
fying to  the  truth  of  this  belief.  But  in  entering  the 
grounds  of  the  Jewish  Bible,  in  order  to  find  God's  rem- 
edy for  our  disease,  we  must  begin  to  Mieve  what  we  do 
not  perceive.  If  human  reason  could  understand  God's 
way  in  giving  a  religion  to  reconcile  us  to  him  then  it  could 
also  contrive  it  itself,  and  there  would  be  no  necessity  for 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  79 

God's  religion  ;  man  could  make  his  own  religion  if  it 
were  not  beyond  the  reach  of  his  spirit  and  power.  But 
we  only  look  for  a  religion  because  we  find  ourselves  too 
weak,  our  reason  and  moral  power  inadequate  to  make  us 
good,  or  to  reconcile  us  to  God  after  we  were  bad.  We 
therefore  look  for  something  supernatural.  Our  disease 
we  comprehend ;  a  remedy  for  it  is  not  to  be  discovered 
by  our  reason,  on  account  of  our  blindness  and  weak- 
ness. The  same  is  true  of  diseases  of  the  body  ;  every 
man  feels  his  pain  but  must  believe  the  doctor  for  the 
cure.  It  is  not  necessary  that  the  patient  shall  understand 
medicine ;  if  he  only  knows  what  ails  him  and  finds  the 
doctor  who  deserves  his  confidence,  then  he  believes. 
Should  the  patient  understand  medicine,  there  would  be 
no  need  for  the  doctor.  All  the  patient  needs  is  the  doc- 
tor's testimonials,  or  reputation  for  learnng  and  ability,  in 
order  that  he  may  trust  him  and  take  his  incomprehensi- 
ble medicines. 

Thus  the  first  condition  of  Judaism  is  to  believe  that 
the  Bible  was  given  by  God.  The  Bible  is  not  compre- 
hensible, therefore  it  must  be  believed.  In  the  Bible  God 
appears  different  from  what  he  did  in  his  revelations  to 
our  heart  and  reason.  The  Divinity  which  we  conceive 
in  nature,  that  God  of  reason,  is  rather  revealed  as  an 
impersonal  God.  But  as  man  has  the  propensity  to  pray, 
as  he  seeks  help  from  God,  therefore  we  have  a  kind  of 
perception  that  God  is  a  free,  independent,  personal  Being. 
The  God  of  the  Bible  is  a  wonderful  God  ;  He  speaks  in 
words,  gives  a  special  law,  writes  on  tables  of  stone,  ap- 
pears to  our  reason  to  be  partial  in  choosing  one  people, 
changes   the  laws  of  nature  to   work  miracles,  and    has 


8o  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

angels  as  messengers.  Thus  not  only  God,  but  also  every 
spiritual  power  becomes  personified,  and  the  spirit  of 
bad  influences  appears  as  a  malicious  Satan.  [Zech.  iii ; 
Job  i.]  The  God  of  the  Bible,  his  ways  and  laws,  are  by 
no  means  in  accordance  with  reason.  In  short,  with  the 
Bible  we  receive  a  w^orld  of  mysteries,  even  absurdities 
and  contrarieties,  as  I  shall  show  below.  I  only  allude 
now  to  Ezek.  iv. 

But  how  can  we  believe  such  unreasonable  things, 
such  mysteries  and  contradictions.''  Because  we  say 
they  are  God's  mysteries,  and  therefore  seem  to  be  con- 
tradictions because  we  cannot  understand  him  on  ac- 
count of  his  being  above  our  reason.  For  we  have  seen 
above,  that  history,  especially  the  marvelous  history  of 
Israel,  proves  that  the  miracles  must  be  true ;  and  there- 
fore we  believe  the  Bible,  on  account  of  the  miracles. 
These  miracles  happened  in  the  presence  of  all  that  na- 
tion whose  very  existence  is  an  everlasting  miracle ;  and 
one  generation  testifies  to  another  of  their  truth.  These 
miracles  were  also  of  such  a  nature  that  they  could  not 
be  disputed ;  for  instance,  the  division  of  the  Red  Sea, 
and  the  giving  of  the  manna.  For  about  fifteen  cen- 
turies the  Israelitish  nation  also  had  prophets,  through 
whom  God's  revelation  was  continued,  and  who  also 
worked  miracles,  in  accordance  with  Moses' promise  that 
they  should  also  have  prophets  in  his  place.  The  first 
miracles  by  which  God  introduced  himself  as  a  God  who 
works  supernatural  things,  as  the  real  Lord  of  creation, 
were  performed  in  presence  of  all  the  nation  ;  but  with 
the  latter  prophets  and  their  miracles  there  was  no 
longer   a  necessity   for   such   a   general   publicity.     The 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  8l 

latter  ages  already  had  what  was  necessary  to  belief.  All 
the  nation  was  a  witness  to  the  genuineness  of  God's 
revelations,  and  nothing  but  hardness  of  heart  could 
make  any  one  disbelieve  or  disobey.  To  dispute  God's 
miracles  by  Moses,  was  disputing  history.  Besides, 
God's  supernatural  presence  was  always  visible  in  the 
fate  of  the  nation :  they  were  great  and  happy  as  long  as 
they  followed  the  way  and  believed,  and  became  op- 
pressed and  miserable  when  they  disobeyed.  Also, 
everything  that  happened  to  them  was  predicted  before 
it  happened ;  even  their  fate,  their  dispersion  and  most 
marvelous  preservation  up  to  this  day  are  predicted,  and 
furnish  conclusive  evidence.  No  reasonable  man,  after 
looking  at  the  facts  of  history,  can  doubt  any  longer  the 
existence  of  a  real  supernatural  revelation,  to  that  ex- 
ceedingly wonderful  nation  ;  moreover,  their  book  of 
revelation  has  conquered  all  the  civilized  world  and  still 
excercises  that  sublime  power  which  we  see,  and  which 
is  also  according  to  its  own  predictions. 

Thus  the  belief  in  the  Bible  is  founded  upon  super- 
natural miracles,  not  upon  reason.  As  I  said  in  the  first 
chapter,  the  God  of  Moses  is  not  the  God  of  philosophy. 
Again,  if  Israel's  history,  with  its  miracles  and  the  power 
of  the  Bible,  prove  its  being  the  book  of  God,  we  must 
not  only  be  glad  that  we  have  a  book  from  God  which 
we  may  believe,  but  we  are  also  compelled  to  believe. 
For  if  God  in  his  infinite  mercy  has  revealed  himself  for 
our  benefit,  it  becomes  our  most  binding,  and  most  sa- 
cred duty  to  bow  our  heads  and  believe  and  obey  him. 
Shall  God  have  spoken  in  vain  ? 

So  far,    that    is,  concerning  the  belief    in    the  Bible, 


82  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

the  Jews  are  undoubtedly  right.  The  question  is  now, 
only,  whether  Judaism  does  not  misunderstand  the  Bi- 
ble; whether  they  acquire  the  necessary  atonement  in 
accordance  with  that  Bible ;  whether  their  religion  is  the 
remedy  for  the  soul's  disease.  Seeking  help  for  the  soul, 
Judaism  points  to  the  law.  It  teaches  that  the  only  way 
to  do  God's  will  is  to  keep  the  law.  We  are  bad,  but 
God  gave  us  commandments  in  order  that  we  should 
acquire  merits  by  keeping  them.  Through  keeping  of 
the  law  we  become  righteous,  and  we  must  therefore 
work  out  our  righteousness.  There  is  no  radical  cure 
for  the  disease,  no  medicine  to  change  our  spiritual  con- 
stitution, so  that  the  disease  should  be  removed,  no 
giving  of  another  than  a  natural  direction  to  our  life. 
The  law  leaves  us  sick,  but  prescibes  a  great  number  of 
medicines  and  a  strict  diet.  Every  minute  you  must 
take  a  commandment,  not  for  a  cure,  but  that  the  sick- 
ness may  not  kill  you.  But  as  it  must  be  supposed  that 
you  will  fail  in  your  diet,  since  men  are  weak,  therefore 
an  extra  medicine  is  prescibed  for  you.  The  sacrifice  of 
an  animal  and  the  sprinkling  of  its  blood  will  cleanse 
you  from  your  sin.  As  a  general  relapse  is  supposed  to 
take  place  every  day,  there  are  daily  sacrifices  pre- 
scribed, also  some  extra  for  the  Sabbath,  new  moons  and 
holidays.  A  special  cleansing  from  all  sins  by  the  serv- 
ices of  the  High  Priest  is  promised  for  the  day  of 
atonement  once  a  year.  According  to  the  prescription  of 
the  Bible,  the  sacrifices  are  necessary  for  the  forgiveness 
of  sins,  for  there  is  no  atonement  promised  without  them. 
And  as  we  found  that  men  are  sinners,  therefore  the 
main  power  of  the  law  must  be  in  sacrifices,  and  it  is  of 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  8^ 

no  avail   without  them.     We  have,  thus,  good  reason  to 
think  that  the  law  has  lost  its  power  by  losing  the  integ- 
rity with  the'sacrifices,  for  there  have  been  no  sacrifices 
during  eighteen  centuries.     According  to  our  reason  God 
can  surely  forgive  sins  without  the  sprinkled  blood,  even 
now,  but  according  to  that,  there  never  was  any  necessity 
to  give  the  command  to  bring  sacrifices.     The   sacrifices 
are,  from  the  beginning,  wholly  against  our  reason ;  but 
God  said  they  were  necessary,  and  if  they  were  necessary 
then,  why  should  they  not  be  so  now  ?     Truly,  they  are 
incomprehensible ;    we    cannot    possibly    see    why    God 
wants   the  blood   of  an   animal  in   order  to  forgive   our 
sins ;  but,  as  I  said   before,  the  God  of  the  Bible  is  not 
according  to  reason,  but  above  it.     As  soon  as  we  accept 
•   the   Bible  we  only  judge  according  to  its  teachings,  for 
we  must  believe  it.     We  judge  no  longer  whether  God's 
command  is  in  agreement  with  our  reason,  but  whether 
we  live   according  to  his  command  ;   and   he  says,    de^ 
cidedly,  that  the  sacrifices  are  necessary  for  atonement. 
Especially  the  services  of  the  High  Priest  on  the  day  of 
atonement  seem  to  be   the  most   valuable  part  of  all  the 
Mosaic  law.     For   Moses   says,  explicitly,  that  the  sins 
should  be  forgiven  on  that  day.     We  read,  Levit.  xvi :  30, 
"  For  on  that  day  /le  shall  make  an  atonement  for  you,  to 
cleanse  you,  that  ye  may  be  clean  from  all  your  sins  be- 
fore the  Lord."     In  reading  the  whole   chapter,  we  can 
not  doubt  that  the  word  'Wie  "  alludes  to  the  High  Priest, 
who,  by  his  services,  makes  atonement   before  the  Lord. 
Jewish   commentators   also  interpret    it    to    this   effect. 
It  was  also  the  only  day  in   which  ofily  the  High    Priest 
could   enter  the  Sanctum   Sanctorum,   where  the   Lord 
6^ 


84  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

dwelt  between  the  Cherubim.  It  was  the  highest  service 
in  the  year,  and  his  object  was  to  make  atonement.  The 
work  of  this  day  seems  thus  to  be  tlie  main  object  of  the 
law.  There  we  can  see  that  God's  law  is  not  only  in- 
comprehensible, but  also  intended  for  atonement,  which 
can  any  way  be  the  only  object  of  religion.  It  is  utterly 
absurd  to  believe 'with  some,  that  the  law  was  only  given 
,for  w^orldly  purposes,  as  the  old  Saduceeans  believed. 
For  concerning  this  world  we  find  that  the  heathen  en- 
joyed it  better  than  the  chosen  people.  If  the  eternal 
God  reveals  himself  it  must  be  for  eternal  purposes. 
Reason  suffices  for  this  world's  affairs. 

We  have  said  that  because  we  yield  to  the  power  of 
the  flesh  we  feel  that  we  are  bad  and  the  pangs  of  con- 
science tell  us  that  we  are  in  enmity  with  God,  and 
therefore  we  seek  a  religion  in  order  to  find  reconcilia- 
tion. Now  we  have  the  law,  does  the  law  make  us  bet- 
ter ^  I  cannot  say  that  the  law,  because  it  tells  me  what 
to  do  and  what  to  omit,  does  me  any  good,  for  in  seeking 
for  a  religion  I  must  necessarily  have  known  what  is  bad, 
else  I  should  have  no  pangs  of  conscience.  That  very 
•conscience  which  makes  me  look  for  a  religion,  must  have 
told  me  first  what  is  bad.  Consequently,  I  do  not  look 
for  a  religion  in  order  to  be  taught  what  is  right  or 
wrong,  but  to  give  me  a  way  to  keep  the  right  and  to 
make  atonement  for  my  wrong.  For  instance,  my  con- 
science tells  me  that  I  am  not  truthful.  If  I  did  not 
know  that  untruthfulness  is  wrong,  my  conscience  would 
be  quiet.  I  want  a  religion  to  give  me  strength  to  live 
according  to  my  conscience,  and  to  make  atonement  for 
my  untruthfulness,  which  sets  me  at  enmity  with  God. 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  85 

The  law  tells  me  Avhat  my  conscience  told  me  long  ago, 
.that  I  must  be  truthful.  Now  I  am  worse  off  than  ever : 
my  conscience  wounds  me  more  because  the  sin  is 
stronger.  God  in  his  revelation,  in  his  law,  said  also 
that  I  must  be  truthful,  and  I  am  not  !  The  voice  of 
revelation  becomes  the  voice  of  condemnation  ;  for  the 
law  says  it  more  explicitly,  that  I  am  a  sinner,  hence  the 
law  sounds  like  a  curse.  And  not  only  this  ;  the  law  says 
I  must  eat  no  pork,  no  oysters,  etc.  Fearful !  Not  only 
that  I  am  a  sinner  on  account  of  my  old  sins,  I  have 
temptations  and  sins  now  of  which  I  never  knew  before. 
I  could  eat  anything  before  without  sinning.  Now  I, 
one  who  cannot  live  according  to  the  law  of  conscience  ; 
I  who  was  too  weak  to  carry  that  burden,  have  a  still 
heavier  burden.  There  is  no  inducement  for  me,  then, 
to  accept  the  law,  but  the  sacrifices  through  which  atone- 
ment is  promised.  Else  the  law  leads  to  sin,  and  is  a 
curse. 

Now,  the  Jews  also  teach  human  depravity,  as  I 
said  in  the  chapter  treating  it;  they  admit  that  we  are 
sinners,  but  claim  that  the  righteousness  of  the  law  justi- 
fies. They  ^dmit  the  weakness,  that  we  cannot  keep 
the  law ;  and  especially  teach,  that,  before  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  temple  we  had  sacrifices  to  make  atonement 
for  us.  They  also  admit  that  the  day  of  atonement  is 
the  holiest  day  in  the  year,  and  that  its  services  were  the 
holiest  and  most  precious  services  for  Israel.  Since  the 
destruction  of  the  temple  the  Rabbis  lament  very  bit- 
terly the  loss  of  the  sacrifices.  The  great  value  they 
placed  upon  them  is  expressed  in  the  many  prayers  for 
their  restoration,  as  we  find  in  the  prayer-book.     We  can 


86  MIND    AND    HEART     IN    RELIGION; 

hardly  find  a  prayer,  but  it  expresses  a  burning  desire 
for  the  restoration  of  the  sacrifices.  It  is  heart-rending, 
to  read  their  description  of  the  services  in  the  prayers 
for  the  day  of  atonement ;  they  were  inexhaustible  in 
describing  it.  The  loss  of  the  promise  of  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins  caused  them  the  most  insupportable  sorrow, 
and  many  hot  tears.  Indeed,  they  had  good  reason  to 
lament  and  to  weep.  Any  one  who  has  the  least  sympa- 
thy with  God's  chosen  and  dispersed  people,  can  find 
tears  for  the  fearful  loss  of  such  privileges  as  my  people 
had.  Tears  blind  the  eyes  of  the  writer  of  these  lines. 
Flow,  my  tears,  without  ceasing.  May  yo*ur  fountain 
never  dry  up.  May  my  eyes  shed  blood  and  my  heart 
break  for  my  people's  loss,  for  the  loss  of  such  a  visible 
glory.  It  is  related  in  the  Mishnah  that  a  certain  red 
thread  in  the  sanctuary  always  turned  white  after  the 
services  of  the  day  of  atonement,  as  an  answer  from  the 
sin-forgiving,  Most  Merciful  God  of  Israel,  that  he  had 
cleansed  his  people  from  all  their  sins.  What  a  privi- 
lege !  It  is  also  stated  that  they  felt  great  joy  in  their 
hearts.  Perhaps  it  was  something  like  that  sweet  joy 
Christians  often  perceive  in  their  hearts..  To-day  the 
reformed  Israelites  laugh  at  such  things,  and  so  I  did  once. 
They  think  it  was  superstition  for  a  man  to  be  troubled 
about  his  sins,  and  foolish  to  think  of  the  future.  A 
greatly  learned  Rabbi,  Nachman  Krochmal,  explains,  or 
rather  perverts,  this  historical  passage  of  the  Mishnah  so 
as  to  teach  that  the  whitening  of  the  thread  was  no  mira- 
cle, but  a  kind  of  mechanism.  But  according  to  the 
meaning  of  the  Mishnah  it  is  related  as  something  won- 


\ 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  87- 

derful.     Krochmal's   perversion    is,    besides,    absurd    of 
itself,  and  needs  no  contradiction. 

Such  interpretations  of  miracles  to  make  people  be- 
lieve they  were  natural  occurrences,  and  all  those  re- 
formed ideas,  are  not  Judaism,  but  deviations  from  it. 
Only  those  teachings  can  be  considered  as  Judaism 
which  are  in  accordance  with  the  Talmud.  Nobody  ever 
tried  to  treat  anything  else  as  such  until  this  century. 
And,  as  I  said,  the  Rabbis  stand  on  the  platform  of  be- 
lief. Nobody  can  accuse  them  of  not  believing,  but  of 
perverting  the  Bible.  So  they  do  with  the  doctrine  of 
the  sacrifices  and  the  day  of  atonement. 

In  order  to  give  their  disciples  consolation  in  the  loss, 
of  their  privileges,  they  say  that  the  earnest  reading  of 
Scriptural  and  Talmudical  passages  which  describe  the 
ordinances  of  the  Scriptures,  will  be  accepted  before  the 
Lord,  like  the  blood  of  the  animal.  And  they  pervert  the 
above  cited  verse  of  Levit.  xvi :  30,  where  Moses  says,, 
"On  that  day //^  shall  make  atonement,"  which  means 
l\i^ priest  shall  make  the  atonement,  by  teaching  that  the 
^'  DA  y"  makes  atonement.  The  day  cleanses  from  sin. 
It  is  true,  they  say  that  the  day  cleanses  only  upon  the 
condition  of  repentance  and  reformation.  But  what  an 
anti-biblical,  almost  heathenish  doctrine  that  is  !  To  say 
that  a  certain  day  had  the  power  of  atonement  before 
God !  Where  is  the  biblical  authority  for  that  teaching.^ 
Where  is  the  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  "  for  such  a  doctrine  I 
I  will  believe  everything  God  said,  even  if  it  should  cost 
my  life.  But  I  must  have  a  "  Koh  amar  Adonai,"" 
^'Thiis  saith  the  Lord,''  for  it.  We  can  often  find  that  the 
Rabbis  were  not  embarrassed  how  to  pervert  the  Bible- 


o6  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

They  were  very  inventive,  and  seemed  to  have  no  scruple 
in  interpreting  passages  against  the  most  obvious  mean- 
ing, as  we  shall  see  in  the  next  chapter. 

But  truly,  we  can  see  that  the  sacrifices  can  not  be  re- 
placed by  reading  the  law  appointing  them,  nor  is  the 
atonement  which  the  Lord  promised  and  which  was  to 
be  attained  by  the  high  priest's  service  attainable  now 
through  the  power  of  a  day,  or  through  the  works  and 
goodness  of  man. 

If  anything  is  calculated  to  be  imposingly  solemn,  to 
draw  the  heart  into  contrition ;  if  the   Tew  has  any  time 
when,  being  entirely  withdrawn  from  this  world,  he  can 
devote  himself  exclusively  to  God's  service,  then  it  must 
be   the  day  of  atonement.     Notwithstanding  some  cor- 
ruptions of  the  Synagogue,  as  the  praying  in   Hebrew, 
which  they  do  not  understand,  and  other  corruptions  of 
which  I  do  not  wish  to  speak,  it  seems  as  if  the  world 
ceased  to  exist ;  there  is  nothing  for  the  real  Jew  on  that 
day  but  a   Synagogue.     The    strictest    abstinence   from 
everything  is  observed.     To  take  one  drop  of  water,  to 
wear  shoes,  even   to  wash  the  face,  is  forbidden  by  the 
Rabbis  for  twenty-four  hours  —  from  evening  unto  eve- 
ning.    ^The  Bible  only  conwiands  to  afflict  your  souls  or 
yourselves,  and  says  nothi?ig  about  eating  or  drinking,  and 
gives  no  description  of  the  mafiner  of  affliction.)     And  all 
that  time   of  twenty-four  hours  of  fasting  is  devoted   to 
reading  and  singing  hymns,  praying,  and   making  con- 
fessions;  some,  even  watch  all    night,    reading   psalms. 
But  all  this  service   is  of  no  effect  for  the  heart.     The 
Jew's  heart  finds  no  consolation;  he  perceives  not  the 
atonement  in  himself.     He  has  no  joy  of  God ;  he  does 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  89 

not  feel  reconciled  to  his  Creator;  does  not  stand  near 
him  after  the  "  ^/^;z//?^  day''  After  this  wonderful  day^ 
which,  according  to  the  Talmud,  makes  atonement,  the 
Jew  naturally  feels  very  tired,  worn  out,  and  very  hun- 
gry. He  also  experiences  some  satisfaction  that  the  fast 
is  over.  The  burden  of  fasting  is  taken,  but  not  the  one 
of  sins.  Then,  he  often  feels  very  low  from  the  effect  of 
the  fast.  The  glorious  day  of  atonement  is  no  more  a, 
day  of  atonement  but  a  fast.     A  fast  of  no  avail. 

God's  people  know  nothing  of  that  indescribable,  bless- 
ed experience  of  joy  in  God,  which  is  the  assurance  of 
atonement  and  reconciliation  with  Him,  an  experience 
which  gives  such  a  quiet  conscience,  such  a  sweet  rest  of 
heart,  such  a  refreshment  to  the  soul,  such  a  calmness,, 
and  peace,  and  love,  and  hope.  They  know  nothing  of 
it,  and  if  you  tell  them  of  such  experiences,  they  say  you. 
are  insane,  and  laugh  you  to  scorn. 

Woe  to  God's  chosen  people,  without  a  sacrifice,  with- 
out an  atonement,  without  the  mediating  High  Priest  L 
Woe,  a  thousand  times  woe !  Have  they  no  tears  in 
heaven  }  Does  Abraham  not  weep  1  Rachel  does  !  I 
wonder  that  the  stars  do  not  shed  tears,  that  the  sun 
does  not  cease  to  shine,  that  the  earth  does  not  stop  in 
her  course,  that  the  silent  moon  does  not  speak,  that  all 
nature  does  not  suspend  work,  mourning  for  the  misfor- 
tune of  the  people  of  their  Creator.  Does  Sinai  keep 
silent .?  Do  the  waters  of  the  Red  Sea,  which  retired 
once  in  reverence  before  my  people,  do  they  not  boil  and 
rage  1  Does  Jordan  yet  run  towards  his  destination } 
Israel,  Israel,  my  dear  Israel,  my  Israel !  Where  art  thou  1- 
Where  is  thy  atonement,  thy  hope,  thy  precious  promise  ? 


tpo  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

Where  is  the  nation  like  Israel  on  the  day  of  atone- 
ment ?  In  every  corner  of  the  earth  they  stand  up  like 
•one  man ;  from  every  country  their  shouting  ascends. 
They  pray  for  atonement !  Oh,  it  is  as  if  all  the  creation 
'Ought  to  join  them  in  prayer ;  stones  ought  to  cry  and 
mountains  pray  for  atonement. 

But  the  Lord  said  :  "  And  I  shall  surely  hide  my  face 
in  that  day.  "  Deuter.  xxxi :  i8.  As  I  said  before,  we 
•can  see  that  the  day  makes  no  atonement,  notwithstand- 
ing the  teaching  of  the  Talmud. 

The  Rabbis  of  to-day,  who  try  to  show  that  Judaism 
was  an  entirely  comprehensible  religion  ;  that  everything 
Judaism  teaches  was  according  to  philosophy  (and  there 
.are  even  so-called  orthodox  Rabbis  who  hold  that  doc- 
trine), preach  that  the  only  way  to  receive  atonement  is 
to  repent  and  be  good.  The  day,  they  say,  cleanses  only 
in  the  sense  that  it  is  set  apart  for  retirement  from  the 
world,  and  examination  of  one's  own  heart.  But  this  is 
not  only  anti-bib)lical,  it  is  also  against  the  meaning 
of  the  Talmud.  It  is  altogether  against  the  principle  of 
religion,  which  is,  thit  atonement  must  come  from  God. 
It  leaves  again  the  man  to  himself.  If  man's  repentance 
and  personal  goodness  are  sufficient  to  give  him  atone- 
ment ;  if  he  is  able  to  be  good  enough  in  the  eyes  of 
God,  then  religion  becomes  superfluous.  And  why  did 
God  promise  atonement  through  the  High  Priest's  ser- 
vice ?  The  Talmud  held  to  the  principle  of  Religion  ; 
its  authors  considered  a  supernatural  way  of  atonement 
-necessary.  They  knew  that  the  High  Priest's  services 
"vvere  ordered  for  atonement,  but  simply  perverted  the 
-Bible  so  as  to   teach  that  the  day  had   the  power.     The 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  9I 

Talmud  had  no  intention  to  make  religion  comprehensi- 
l)le.  Indeed,  the  Talmud  is  not  against  belief,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  wants  its  disciples  to  believe  too  much. 

It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  that  the  Rabbi  of  the  Re- 
form lately  put  forth  the  curious  doctrine  that  God  does 
not  forgive  sins  according  to  Judaism,  and  that  the  doc- 
trine of  atonement  is  entirely  a  Christian  invention,  and 
that  another  Rabbi  proclaimed  that  he  does  not  believe 
in  a  personal  God.  Such  doctrines  are  the  logical  result 
of  refusing  to  believe  in  supernatural  revelations.  If  God 
did  not  literally  speak,  and  there  is  no  supernatural  way  of 
reconciliation,  how  can  we  expect  an  atonement  ?  There 
is  more  logic  with  these  Rabbis  than  with  those  who  deny 
revelation  and  still  believe  in  the  day  of  atonement.  The 
inconsistency  of  the  former  is  only  in  the  fact  that  they  do 
not  resign  their  position  as  Rabbis,  for  they  have  nothing 
to  do  with  religion.  The  human  propensity  for  religion, 
which  they  take  to  be  the  religion,  and  which  is  nothing 
"but  the  human  misery,  that  human  misery  man  can  cul- 
tivate without  synagogues  and  Rabbis.  The  impersonal 
God  needs  no  service,  he  is  a  dead  God.  He  does  not 
even  deserve  the  name  God.  Surely  he  was  not  the 
God  of  Moses.  I  cannot  be  astonished  at  a  reformed 
Jew  when  he  denies  the  existence  of  a  personal  God,  for 
I  had  such  pantheistic  temptations  myself. 

Let  us  return  to  the  doctrine  of  the  sacrifices.  Ac- 
cording to  Scripture  and  Talmud  they  were  necessary 
for  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  thus  they  preserve  the  integ- 
rity of  the  law.  If  I  fail  to  keep  a  commandment  I  am 
enabled  to  make  it  right  by  the  sacrifices ;  but  if  I  have 
aio  sacrifice,  by  what  can  I  replace  it  ?  as  the  rabbinical 


92  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

doctrines  of  reading  the  ordinances  and  of  the  atoning 
day  have  no  Biblical  foundation.  The  Jews  claim  they 
were  innocent  in  not  bringing  the  sacrifices,  as  the  de- 
struction of  the  sanctuary  was  not  directly  caused  by 
them,  and  its  rebuilding  was  beyond  their  power.  But. 
if  God,  in  his  infinite  mercy  and  wisdom,  has  revealed 
himself  on  earth,  and  told  us  to  bring  sacrifices,  then 
they  were  necessary  according  to  His  wisdom.  Is  it  to, 
be  supposed  that  he  would  have  allowed  the  sanctuary 
to  be  destroyed,  or,  at  least,  that  he  would  not  have 
given  the  opportunity  and  the  command  for  its  rebuild- 
ing, if  he  wanted  it  to  be  rebuilt  again  ?  Especially  as 
we  find  that  he  did  so  after  the  destruction  of  the  first 
temple.  And  as  God  left  us  without  sacrifices,  which 
obviously  were  to  integrate  the  law,  is  it  not  rather  to  be 
supposed  that  they  are  no  longer  necessary,  for  the 
reason  that  they  only  pointed  to  a  certain  thing  w^hich 
was  to  come,  and  were  only  to  teach  the  principle  of 
God's  way  of  atonement  ?  As  we  find  the  law  of  no  avail 
without  sacrifices,  we  must  necessarily  examine  if  the 
Bible  has  not  other  aim  besides  the  law.  We  must  see  if 
there  is  no  other  atonement  offered  besides  the  sacrifices 
of  animals.  For,  shall  God  have  spoken  in  vain,  because 
the  sanctuary  is  destroyed  ?  Is  the  word  of  God  useless 
because  the  law  is  void  ?  May  not  that  law  have  been  a 
preparation  for  freedom  without  a  law.?  Every  father 
and  teacher  has  !aws  and  rules  for  the  children,  to  teach 
them  obedience,  but  when  the  child  grows  up  to  be  a 
man,  he  is  free  of  these  laws  and  rules.  But  still  the  laws 
were,  from  the  beginning,  only  calculated  to  teach  him  as 
a  child  in  order  that  he  might  be  free  when  he  became  a 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  93 

man.  AVe  must  any  way  say  that  the  aim  of  the 
law  could  not  have  been  to  give  a  way  of  atone- 
ment for  Israel  only.  The  God  of  Israel  is  the 
God  of  mankind ;  thus  he  chose  Israel  to  be  the  instru- 
ment to  give  a  religion  to  the  world.  Now,  the  law 
and  the  sacrifices  were  given  to  Israel  alone,  and  it 
is  not  to  be  expected  that  the  law  should  be  accepted 
by  the  nations,  that  God  should  reveal  himself  again  to 
every  nation  and  tell  them  to  keep  the  law  he  gave  to 
Israel.  Israel  is  chosen,  and  the  Bible,  the  word  of  God, 
cannot  be  revoked ;  so  the  nations'  help  can  only  be  ex- 
pected in  the  revelations  to  Israel.  Consequently,  the 
very  law  and  sacrifices  viust  have  pointed  to  and  pre- 
pared a  religion  for  the  world.  Moreover,  as  we  have 
seen  above  that  the  law  is  not  a  radical  cure  for  man's 
spiritual  disease,  therefore  Israel  itself  had  to  expect  a 
development  of  its  religion,  a  full  cure  of  the  disease, 
and  a  delivery  from  the  burden  of  the  law.  And  so 
they  did  expect  it.  We  cannot  say  that  the  law  and 
the  sacrifices  were  only  binding  for  a  certain  time,  for 
the  Bible  does  not  teach  so ;  nor  can  we  suppose  that 
the  sacrifices  are  necessary  now,  else  the  Lord  would  have 
given  the  opportunity  to  bring  them.  But  we  must  say 
that  law  and  sacrifices  were  preparing  a  building  which 
is  finished,  and  they  exist  in  the  building  under  a  difter- 
ent  form. 

For  instance,  a  man  gives  orders  to  carry  bricks  and 
lumber  and  other  materials,  in  order  to  build  a  house. 
He  only  wants  the  materials  brought  as  long  as  they  are 
needed  for  a  house.     As  soon  as  the  house  is  finished  no 

7 


94  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

materials  are  necessary,  and  he  wants  none  to  be 
brought.  Has  his  order  been  in  vain  ?  Are  the  mate- 
rials useless?  No;  the  materials  brought  are  in  the 
house,  they  exist,  and  are  there  used  as  they  were  in- 
tended. The  man's  order  is  not  revoked,  but  fulfilled. 
May  not  this  be  the  case  with  the  law  ?  It  was  a  work 
for  a  house  which  is  finished  now,  and  it  is  understood 
of  itself  that  no  more  materials  are  needed,  for  the 
necessary  materials  are  in  the  house.  The  law  is  ful- 
filled. 

The  great  Jewish  teacher,  Maimonides,  teaches  that 
the  law  is  still  in  force,  but  the  sacrifices  were  only  a 
temporal  institution.  The  sacrifices  of  animals,  says  he, 
were  only  tolerated  by  Moses.  Because  the  heathen 
were  in  the  habit  of  sacrificing  wild  animals  and  their 
children,  therefore  Moses,  fearing  that  the  Israelites 
would  wish  to  do  like  the  heathen,  only  permitted  that 
they  should  bring  their  offerings  of  clean  animals  before 
the  Lord.  He  considers  it  only  a  necessity  for  the  time. 
Maimonides,  trying  to  find  reasons  for  God's  command- 
ments, made  many  blunders,  but  none  like  this.  The 
Reformers  accept  this  doctrine  of  Maimonides  and  apply 
the  principle  to  the  whole  law,  saying  it  was  for  the  time. 
They  go  with  Maimonides  when  it  suits  their  purpose, 
they  even  believe  the  Bible,  sometimes,  when  they  can 
pervert  it  and  bring  it  in  accordance  with  their  made-up 
religion,  or  even  with  pantheism. 

Maimonides'  doctrine  that  the  sacrifices  were  only 
given  temporarily  has  not  only  no  biblical  foundation 
but  is  even  plainly  against  the  Bible.     He  had  no   more 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  95 

authority  to  affirm  that  the  sacrifices  were  for  a  tem- 
porary purpose  than  to  say  all  the  law  was  only  tem- 
porary. It  is  true  that  the  prophets  and  the  psalmist 
placed  more  value  in  obeying  God  than  in  sacrifices,  and 
considered  it  better  not  to  sacrifice  than  to  do  it  in  diso- 
bedience. We  may  learn  by  this,  that  the  main  object 
of  the  sacrifices  must  have  been  as  a  symbol,  pointing 
to  the  subjection  to  God,  and  that  our  main  object  in 
sacrificing  must  be  humiliation  before  God  while  be- 
lieving Him ;  that  we  ought  to  bring  a  nobler,  inward 
sacrifice,  the  one  of  our  heart,  our  life,  our  all.  No  sac- 
rifice is  of  any  value  except  the  heart  is  sacrificed  before 
its  Maker.  This  is  what  the  prophets  teach.  But  there 
is  no  shade  of  a  reason  to  suppose  the  sacrifices  abol- 
ished when  all  the  law  is  binding.  We  have  seen,  before^ 
that  the  sacrifices  could  only  be  in  order  to  integrate  the 
law,  and  Maimonides  himself  wrote  the  first  codex  of 
the  rabbinical  law.  And,  again,  where  is  the  object,  the 
aim  of  the  religion,  if  it  ofters  no  atonement.  What  a. 
profanation  of  the  sanctuary  this  implies ;  for  the  law 
said,  "For  I  will  appear  in  the  cloud  upon  the  cover. '^ 
(In  the  English  version,  "upon  the  mercy-seat.")  Lev, 
xvi :  2.  The  Lord  promised  to  dwell  in  the  sanctuary, 
and  allows  only  the  High  Priest  to  enter  into  the  Holy 
of  Holies  on  the  day  of  atonement  when  He  promises 
to  forgive  the  sins  after  the  High  Priest  makes  the 
atonement  by  sacrifices ;  but,  according  to  Maimonides, 
the  sanctuary  must  have  been  valueless.  For  where  is 
the  value  of  the  sanctuary  when  the  sacrifices  are 
nothing .?     Also  the   promise   that  the  Lord  shall  appear 


96  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

there  must  have  been  a  deception.  If  Moses  had  con- 
sidered the  sacrifices  absolutely  wrong  of  themselves,  he 
would  rather  have  strictly  forbidden  and  not  tolerated 
them,  in  order  that  the  Israelites  might  not  learn  to  walk 
the  way  of  the  heathen.  This  would  have  looked  more 
like  Moses.  Moses  was  not  diffident ;  he  was  very  strict, 
especially  when  it  touched  heathenism.  All  the  air  of 
holiness  with  w^hich  the  Bible  surrounds  the  sanctuary  ; 
all  the  assurances  of  God's  dwelling  in  it ;  all  those  par- 
ticular ordinances  for  its  construction,  or  the  forms  of 
utensils  to  be  used  in  it ;  all  those  inestimable  promises 
of  the  forgiveness  of  sins  through  the  sacrifices ;  all  the 
sanctification  of  the  tribe  of  Levi,  and  especially  the 
children  of  Aaron,  were  nothing  but  mockery  ;  and  the 
awe  and  reverence  which  the  children  of  Israel  perceived 
for  their  sanctuary,  were  the  most  ridiculous  foolishness, 
and  ought  to  provoke  our  contempt  in  place  of  respect, 
if  Maimonides'  opinion  were  right. 

Moreover,  we  find  that  the  principle  of  sacrifices  was 
by  no  means  heathenish.  Abel,  the  son  of  Adam, 
already  sacrificed  animals,  and  the  Lord  had  respect 
unto  Abel  and  his  offering.  Noah,  coming  out  of  the 
ark,  sacrificed  animals,  and  the  Bible  says,  "  And  the 
Lord  smelled  a  sweet  savor,"  etc.  Gen.  viii :  21. 
There  was  no  necessity  for  Abel  and  Noah  to  sacrifice, 
lest  they  should  fall  into  the  way  of  the  heathen.  And 
what  can  the  Lord's  smelling  of  a  sweet  savor  mean,  if 
not  a  mystery.^  There  you  can  also  see  that  the  Bible 
can  either  contain  sacred  mysteries,  or  else  it  is  the  ab- 
surdest  book  according  to  our   reason.     For  the  Lord's 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  97 

smelling  is  not  according  to  rationalism.  The  Patri- 
archs also  sacrificed.  It  must  have  been  according  to 
the  sublime  will  of  God,  then. 

The  language  of  the  Bible  is,  moreover,  decidedly 
plain,  that  God  commanded  to  bring  sacrifices,  and 
promised  to  forgive  sins  through  them.     We  read. 

Lev.  i :  4,  "  And  he  shall  put  his  hand  upon  the  head  of 
the  burnt  offering.  And  it  shall  be  accepted  for 
him." 

Lev.  i :  2-7,  "  Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel  saying,  if  a 
soul  shall  sin  through  ignorance  against  any  of  the 

commandments   of  the    Lord,    etc If  the 

priest  that  is  anointed   do  sin,  etc And  he 

shall  bring  the  bullock  unto  the  door  of  the 
tabernacle  before  the  Lord,  and  shall  lay  his  hand 

upon    the    bullock's    head,    etc And    the 

priest  shall  dip  his  finger  in  the  blood,  and 
sprinkle  of  the  blood  seven  times  before  the  Lordy 
before  the  veil  of  the  sanctuary.  And  the  priest 
shall  put  some  of  the  blood  upon  the  horns  of 
the  altar  of  sweet  incense  before  the  Lord,  which 
is  in  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregatto?i,  Qtc 

Lbid,  20,  "  And  the  priest  shall  make  an  atonement  for 
them,  and  it  shall  be  forgiven  them." 

Lbid,  ix :  7,  "And  Moses  said  unto  Aaron,  Go  unto  the 
altar  and  offer  thy  sin  offering  and  thy  burnt 
offering,  and  make  an  atonement  for  thyself  and 
for  the  people,  and  offer  the  offering  of  the  people, 
and  make  the  atonement  for  them,  as  the  Lord 
commanded." 

Lbid,  24,  "  And  there  came  a  fire  out  from  before  the 
Lord  and  consumed  upon  the  altar  the  burnt 
offering  and  the  fat :  which,  when  all  the  people 
saw,  they  shouted  and  fell  on  their  faces." 


90  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

No ;  dear  reader,  allow  me  to  ask,  is  Moses,  with  his 
Bible  a  lie,  a  humbug?  or  did  God  command  the  sacri- 
fices to  be  brought,  and  did  the  fire  from  the  Lord  really 
come  out  to  devour  them  ?  In  many  places,  Moses  also 
adds,  that  the  sacrifices  shall  be  a  sweet  savor  unto  the 
Lord.  Anybody  reading  Leviticus  will  soon  find  that 
the  Bible  is  in  real  earnest  about  the  sacrifices.  I  have 
cited,  before,  that  the  Lord  promised  a  general  forgiving 
of  sins  on  the  day  of  atonement.  In  reading  all  the  i6th 
chapter  of  Leviticus,  we  find  how  explicitly  that  promise 
was  given. 

Maimonides  also  teaches  that  Moses  has  forbidden  to 
eat  blood  and  commanded  to  sprinkle  it  on  the  altar 
only  because  the  heathen  used  to  worship  their  imaginary 
devils  by  drinking  blood.  They  used  to  kill  animals  in 
the  wilderness  where  they  expected  to  meet  the  devil. 
Nothing  can  be  more  against  the  plainest  teaching  of 
Scripture.  Moses  teaches,  in  the  name  of  the  living 
God,  that  blood  cleanses  from  sin.  Notwithstanding  it 
is  incomprehensible,  we  must  believe  it  if  we  claim  to  be 
Jews  who  believe  the  Bible,  and  do  not  say  that  Moses 
was  an  imposter.     For  we  read  : 

Levi,  xvii:  ii,  12.  "For  the  life  of  the  flesh  is  in  the 
blood :  and  I  have  given  it  to  you  upon  the  altar 
to  make  an  atonement  for  your  souls:  for  it  is  the 
blood  that  maketh  an  atonement  for  the  soul. 
Therefore  I  said  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  no 
soul  of  you  shall  eat  blood." 

Could  the  Bible  speak  plainer  concerning  the  blood  ? 
And  we  find  similar  passages  at  other  places. 

Concerning  preventing  the  children  of  Israel  from  sac- 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  99 

rificing  in  the  desert  places  like  the  heathen,  where  they 
might  expect  to  meet  the  devils,  the  Lord  gave  the  ordi- 
nance that  as  long  as  the  Israelites  were  in  the  camp  in 
the  wilderness  they  shall  kill  no  animal  but  before  the  door 
of  the  tabernacle :  as  we  read  in 

Lev.  xvii :  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying : 
Speak  unto  Aaron,  and  unto  his  sons,  and  unto 
all  the  children  of  Israel,  and  say  unto  them  :  this 
is  the  thing  which  the  Lord  hath  commanded, 
saying  :  What  man  soever  there  be  of  the  house 
of  Israel  that  killeth  an  ox,  or  lamb,  or  goat,  in  the 
camp,  or  that  killeth  it  out  of  the  camp,  and  bring- 
eth  it  not  unto  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the 
congregation,  to  offer  an  offering  unto  the  Lord 
before  the  tabernacle  of  the  Lord,  blood  shall  be 
imputed  unto  that  man ;  he  hath  shed  blood ;  and 
that  man  shall  be  cut  off  from  among  his  people, 
to  the  end  that  the  children  of  Israel  may  bring 
their  sacrifices,  which  they  offer  in  the  open  field, 
even  that  they  may  bring  them  unto  the  Lord, 
unto  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congre- 
gation, unto  the  priest,  and  offer  them  for  peace 
offerings  unto  the  Lord.  And  the  priest  shall 
sprinkle  the  blood  upon  the  altar  of  the  Lord,  at 
the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation, 
and  burn  the  fat  for  a  sweet  savor  unto  the  Lord. 
And  they  shall  no  7nore  offer  the  sacrifices  unto  devils, 
after  whom  they  have  gone  a  whoring." 

This  passage  declares,  plainly,  that  in  order  to  avoid  the 
offering  un.to  the  devils,  they  have  to  bring  before  the 
tabernacle  every  animal  which  they  even  killed  for  the 
use  of  the  meat.  No  part  of  the  meat  was  burnt  upon 
the  altar,  and  it  was  only  a  peace  offering  (Shelamim). 
They  were  forbidden   to  kill  animals  in  the  wilderness, 


lOO  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

even  for  their  own  use,  on  account  of  the  temptation  to  of- 
fer to  the  devils.  Later,  they  were  allowed  to  kill  all  they 
wanted  to  eat,  at  any  place  after  they  arrived  in  Canaan, 
[See  Deuter.  xii.]  This  ordinance  is  only  for  the  camp,  to 
avoid  the  sacrificing  unto  devils.  Anybody  conversant 
with  the  Talmud  knows  the  distinction  ;  that  the  killing 
of  the  animals  for  private  use  (Bassar  thaavah)  was  al- 
lowed in  Canaan  at  any  place ;  but  a  real  sacrifice  had 
altogether  another  object,  that  of  atonement  or  thanks- 
giving, and  was  only  allowed  to  be  sacrificed  in  the 
sanctuary.  Rabbi  Akiba  (in  Chulin)  interprets  the  pas- 
sage of  Lev.  xvii  to  a  different  effect,  but  his  perversion 
cannot  be  accepted  by  any  commentator  who  goes  after 
the  plain  meaning  of  Scripture".  Now,  we  see  plainly 
that  the  heathen  sacrificing  to  devils  caused  a  special 
ordinance,  and  we  cannot  possibly  say  that  this  was  the 
cause  of  all  the  ordinances  for  the  sacrifices. 

In  short,  we  see  that  Maimonides  is,  respecting  the  sac- 
rifices and  the  blood,  plainly  against  the  Bible,  and  we 
must  believe  the  Bible  in  spite  of  all  the  philosophers  of 
earth.  And,  according  to  that  Bible,  God  commanded 
the  sprinkling  of  the  blood  as  a  necessity,  and  afterwards 
by  destroying  the  sanctuary,  he  made  the  execution  of 
his  command  an  impossibility,  and  consequently,  the  law 
of  no  effect.  God  did  not  revoke  the  law  by  a  special 
revelation,  but  left  it  as  it  is,  indicating  that  the  law  is 
always  true  but  so  fulfilled,  and  the  work  of  it  becomes 
superfluous,  as  we  find  in  the  example  with  the  building 
I  mentioned  above,  and  which  will  be  clearly  explained 
in  the  course  of  this  book.     Still,  the  Jews  claim  that  the 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  lOI 

law,  even  to-day,  without  the  sacrifices,  is  the  only  way  of 
justification  before  God.  Let  us,  therefore,  for  the  sake 
of  argument,  leave  out  the  question  of  sacrifices,  and  ex- 
amine, in  the  following  chapter,  whether  the  Jewish  law  is 
according  to  Moses,  and  what  it  affords  us  by  keeping  it. 
Let  us  see  whether  we  can  find  in  the  Jewish  religion,  as 
it  is,  what  we  desire  to  find  in  a  religion ;  reconciliation 
with  God  in  bringing  us  nearer  to  Him,  in  giving 
strength  against  our  weakness,  peace  for  our  conscience, 
and  a  hope  for  the  future,  the  remedy  for  our  spiritual 
disease. 


I02  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 


CHAPTER  IX. 
THE  RABBINICAL  LAW. 

"  For  with  stammering  lips  and  another  tongue  will  he  speak  to  this  people.  To 
whom  he  said,  This  is  the  rest  wherewith  ye  may  cause  the  weary  to  rest ;  and  this 
is  the  refreshing  ;  yet  they  would  not  hear.  But  the  word  of  the  Lord  was  unto 
them  ;  precept  upon  precept ;  line  upon  line  ;  here  a  little  and  there  a  little."  ISA. 
xxviii:  lo  to  12. 

I  have  said,  before,  that  the  Bible  and  the  law  are  not 
according  to  reason,  but  still  we  may,  and  even  must, 
believe  it  because  it  is  the  word  of  the  Author  of  our 
reason  ;  a  fact  to  which  history  testifies.  Consequently, 
we  do  not  give  up  our  reason  in  believing,  but,  on  the 
•contrary,  reason  compels  us  to  believe  what  God  says, 
without  comprehending  it ;  reason  makes  unreasonable 
things  credible  by  the  proof  of  the  miracles.  The  mind 
believes  what  it  does  not  understand.  This  is  true  con- 
cerning the  Bible,  and  it  is  thus  for  our  reason  to  deter- 
mine whether  what  we  believe  is  according  to  the  Bible. 
But  in  believing  the  Rabbinical  law  we  must  give  up 
reason  altogether ;  we  must  believe  the  Rabbis,  who  have 
no  miracles  to  testify  for  them.  Also-  their  interpreta- 
tions of  Scripture   are  entirely  against  reason.     They  do 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  I03 

not  teach  according  to  the  reasonable  meaning  of  the 
Scripture,  often  obviously  against  it.  For  an  illustration 
I  shall  only  mention  here  some  of  their  ordinances. 

Moses  has  forbidden  to  work  on  the  Sabbath  day. 
The  Rabbis,  without  any  Biblical  authority,  count  up 
thirty-nine  principal  works,  and  from  these  principals 
they  derive  offsprings  of  works  without  number.  It 
would  be  too  tedious  for  the  reader  to  have  their  method 
of  making  up  these  many  works  explained  here,  nor  can 
I  devote  this  little  book  to  such  a  purpose;  but  any 
sensible  man  must  be  tempted  to  think  that  they  were 
perfectly  insane  in  using  such  a  logic  as  they  did.  They 
also  forbid  many  things  as  ordinances  of  their  own. 

The  reader  knows,  from  what  I  have  stated  in  my  expe- 
rience, that  conscience  gave  me  pangs  for  carrying  a  hand- 
kerchief. I  was  taught  to  consider  it  a  sin,  because  the 
Bible  forbids  to  carry  a  load  on  the  Sabbath.  It  is 
forbidden  to  put  on  a  plaster  when  anybody  suffers  ;  also 
almost  everything  necessary  for  healing  purposes,  unless 
life  is  in  danger.  Suffering  is  no  excuse ;  only  when  life 
is  in  danger  you  may  break  the  law.  If  your  house  is 
on  fire,  you  must  allow  the  house  to  be  burned,  else  you 
commit  a  crime  ;  if  you  see  something  burning  in  your 
house,  and  know  that  all  the  house  will  be  in  flames  if 
3'ou  let  it  burn,  you  are  not  permitted  to  put  it  out ;  this 
would  be  a  principal  work,  and  you  would  deserve  to  be 
stoned.  Nor  are  you  allowed  to  save  your  movable 
property,  except  such  clothing  as  you  can  put  on.  You 
must  not  comb  your  hair  on  the  Sabbath,  because  you 
will  tear  out  some  hair  through  combing,  and  there  is  no 


104  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

difference  between  tearing  a  hair  from  the  head  and 
reaping  wheat  from  the  field ;  both  are  the  same  kind 
of  work,  plucking,  or  reaping.  It  is  true,  say  they,  that, 
for  instance,  in  plucking  the  hair,  you  do  a  work  which 
you  did  not  intend,  it  is  a  work  which  you  do  not  want^ 
of  itself,  you  only  mean  to  have  your  hair  combed  (me- 
lacha  sheenah  zericha  legupha) ;  but  as  you  know  that 
you  cannot  comb  the  hair  without  tearing,  you  know 
you  cannot  accomplish  the  work  without  having 
some  hair  plucked  out.  Consequently,  it  is  just  as  bad. 
as  if  you  should  go  and  commit  that  fearful  sin  of  pluck- 
ing a  hair  intentionally.  And  this  they  very  wisely  com- 
pare to  one  who  says,  "  I  shall  cut  off  the  head  without 
killing,"  while  you  know  that  cutting  off  the  head  surely 
must  kill.  (Pessik  reshah  veloh  yamuth.)  Also,  you 
cannot  wipe  your  hair  if  it  is  even  wet,  because  in  wiping 
you  press  the  water  from  it,  and  pressing  wine,  for  in- 
stance, is  surely  a  work.  You  must  not  play  any  musical 
instrument,  because  a  string  or  something  else  of  the  in- 
strument may  break,  and  you  may  forget  yourself  and 
repair  it,  which  is  a  work.  You  must  not  swim  on  the 
Sabbath,  because  if  you  do  swim  you  might  get  a  notion 
to  manufacture  an  instrument  for  swimming.  You  must 
surely  not  write,  no  matter  how  pressing  a  necessity  it  is, 
even  for  religious  purposes,  or  even  if  you  do  it  with 
the  greatest  ease;  for  writing,  of  itself,  is  a  principal 
work.  But  doing  mercantile  business  they  consider  not 
forbidden  according  to  law ;  the  sages  have  forbidden 
it  only  because  in  doing  business  you  might  be  tempted 
to   forget  yourself  so  much  as  to  write.      On  the  same 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  I05 

principle  you  are  warned  not  to  read  by  candle-light  on 
the  Sabbath  evening  (which  is  rightly  Friday  evening, 
for  the  Biblical  day  surely  commences  with  the  previous 
evening,  and  nobody  can  dispute  that  the  Biblical  Sab- 
bath  is  the  seventh  day),  if  you  do  read  at  the  candle-light 
you  might  forget  and  trim  the  candle.  It  is  related  that 
such  a  horrible  disaster  happened  to  one  of  the  saints  in 
reading  on  Friday  evening;  but  it  is  supposed  that  the 
Lord  had  forgiven  him.  If  an  apple  falls  of  itself  from 
the  tree  on  the  Sabbath  you  must  not  eat  it,  nor  the  egg 
which  a  hen  laid  on  that  day. 

The  most  amusing  part  of  these  laws  is,  the  principles 
they  set  forth,  and  the  logic  by  which  these  principles  are 
combined,  especially  the  manner  of  deriving  everything 
from  the  Bible,  which  would  be  too  much  to  be  given 
here.  So  far  I  have  cited  a  very  few  of  the  Sabbath  laws, 
but  the  Sabbath  laws  are  only  a  small  part  of  the  rab- 
binical codex.  Everything  in  human  life  is  surrounded 
by  laws.  I  will  therefore  give  you  some  specimens  of 
laws  of  another  character.  For  instance,  the  Jew  is  not 
only  forbidden  to  eat  milk  or  butter,  together  with  meat, 
but  he  must  not  even  use  the  same  utensil  in  which  he 
used  one  for  the  other,  and  must  also  wait  six  hours  after 
•eating  meat  before  he  may  take  milk.  Now,  the  reader 
who  is  conversant  with  the  Old  Testament,  and  knows 
-not  the  Talmud,  will  ask.  Why  is  it  forbidden  ?  The 
Rabbis  say  it  is  forbidden  in  the  Pentateuch.  Listen, 
and  I  will  show  you  an  original  explanation  of  the  Pen- 
tateuch. 

Moses  said  three    times,    "  Thou    shalt    not  seethe  a 


Io6  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

kid  in  his  mother's  milk."  Any  sensible  man  knows 
that  if  one  says,  thou  shalt  not  seethe,  he  means  not  that 
thou  shouldst  not  eat,  and  if  he  repeats  it  three  times  not 
to  ^^ seethe,''  then  he  certainly  means  nothing  else  but 
seething.  The  more  he  repeats  the  same  word  the  less 
he  is  apt  to  mean  anything  else.  A  repetition  of  the 
same  word  surely  emphasises  it.  But  the  Rabbis  say. 
because  this  command  is  found  three  times  in  Scripture,, 
one  means  not  to  seethe,  the  second,  not  to  eat,  and  the 
third,  not  to  enjoy  the  use  of  milk  and  meat  in  any  other 
way.  You  must  not  even  sell  it  and  have  the  benefit  of 
the  money.  If,  by  accident,  a  little  butter  falls  into  your 
meat  soup,  and  that  soup  contains  not  sixty  times  as 
much  as  the  quantity  of  butter  which  fell  into  it,  so  the 
butter  could  be  considered  dissolved  and  lost,  then  you 
are  forbidden  to  use  this  soup  or  the  utensil  in  which  it 
was  when  the  sad  accident  happened.  Reader,  what  do 
you  think  of  that  logic  }  Now,  Moses  was  only  speaking 
of  a  kid  in  the  milk  of  his  mother;  how  do  you  come  to 
forbid  me  to  eat  a  piece  of  meat  from  an  old  ox  imported 
from  Texas,  with  the  butter  of  some  young  cow  of  a  far- 
mer in  Illinois.^  But  they  say  that  they  know  it  by 
tradition,  that  by  "  kid  "  Moses  meant  all  kinds  of  meat^ 
and  by  "  the  milk  of  its  mother,"  any  kind  of  milk.  And 
the  Jew  must  believe  this,  without  any  reason.  They^ 
admit,  though,  that  poultry  is  not  included  in  the  term 
"kid,"  for  experience  shows  that  kids  do  not  fly.  Still, 
they  forbid  to  eat  butter  with  your  chicken,  for  the  very 
sound  reason  that  if  you  eat  chicken  with  butter  to-day,, 
you  might  go  and  commit  that  dreadful  crime  of  eating 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  IO7 

meat  with  butter  to-morrow,  and  then  the  law  would  be- 
shattered  in  pieces.  They  also  say  that  Moses  had  com- 
manded only  to  wait  one  hour  between  eating  meat  and 
milk,  but  they  made  it  six  hours.  How  do  you  like  that  ? 
Now,  there  are  many  Reformers  who  do  not  believe  that 
God  divided  the  Red  Sea,  or  spoke  on  Sinai,  and  keep 
their  business  open  on  Sabbath,  but  still,  in  their  houses- 
they  keep  that  holy  law,  and  have  two  different  sets  of 
kitchen  and  table  furniture  for  the  use  of  meat  and  milk. 
By  this  they  think  to  be  Jews  according  to  religion. 

Let  us  admit  that  Moses  left  some  oral  teachings  and 
principles  for  the  leaders  of  the  nation,  concerning  the 
manner  of  executing  certain  laws  not  sufficiently  ex- 
plained  in  his  book.  The  teachers  of  the  nation  must 
also  have  had  authority  to  legislate  according  to  the  time,, 
in  agreement  with  the  spirit  of  the  Bible,  for  not  every- 
thing is  written  in  the  Bible.  Moses  gives  authority  to 
the  priest  and  judge  and  elders  of  the  time.  [Deut.  xviiy 
and  other  places.]  We  must  even  admit  that  tradi- 
tions are  of  some  value  and  authority,  as  every 
nation,  every  judge,  must  respect  the  use  and  cus- 
tom of  the  country  where  no  special  laws  exist 
adapted  to  the  case.  I  even  think  that,  necessarily, 
Moses  must  have  orally  taught  some  divine  mysteries,, 
which  were  not  adapted  to  publication,  and  there  must 
have  been  some  gnostic  doctrines  and  rules  for  the  un- 
derstanding of  many  passages  of  Scripture,  as  I  shall 
mention  it  below.  But  if  we  are  to  believe  any  authority,, 
doctrine,  tradition,  or  mystery,  it  must  be  according  to 
the  Bible,    in   agreement  with  its    spirit,  not  obviously 


Io8  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

against  it.  Is  it  possible  that  Moses  meant  to  forbid  the 
eating  of  meat  and  milk,  when  he  explicitly  forbids  only 
the  seething  of  the  kid  in  its  mother's  milk  ?  and  his 
repetitions  emphatically  exclude  any  extension  of  his 
prohibition.  There  we  see  that  the  rabbinical  law  was 
against  the  distinct  law  of  Moses.  We  see  that  the 
Rabbis  misused  their  authority,  and  invented  things 
which  they  passed  for  traditions. 

The  reader  who  is  conversant  with  the  New  Testament 
knows  that  they  commanded  certain  washings  of  hands 
without  the  least  authority.  But  they  also  prescribed 
certain  blessings  to  be  said  at  the  washing.  Before 
regular  meals  the  Jew  must  wash  his  hands  and  say, 
^'  Praised  be  Thou,  Lord  our  God,  King  of  the  world, 
who  has  sanctified  us  and  commanded  us  to  wash  our 
hands."  Where  has  the  Lord  commanded  that.^  Is  it 
not  blasphemy  to  say  such  a  blessing  ?  They  say,  that 
whoever  does  not  keep  that  law,  deserves  death.  They 
even  declare  that  he  will  become  poor ;  though  I  know 
that  many  Jews  who  keep  not  that  law  still  die  very 
rich. 

So  far  the  reader  may  think  that  the  Rabbis  only 
made  heavy  burdens  without  authority,  but  that  at  least 
they  were  conscientious  not  to  break  the  law  of  Moses. 
This,  however,  is  not  the  case ;  for  where  it  suited  them 
they  openly  broke  the  law.  For  instance :  they  have 
excluded  the  woman  from  such  laws  which  are  commanded 
for  certain  times  only.  It  is  commanded  to  sit  in  booths 
seven  days,  in  commemoration  that  the  Lord  made 
booths  of  cloudi  for  the   children   of  Israel  when  they 


OR,    JUDAISM     AND    CHRISTIANITY.  I09 

were  in  the  wilderness.  Why  should  the  women  be  ex- 
cluded from  this  duty }  Have  the  women  no  souls } 
Were  the  clouds  not  for  them  also  7  But  the  Rabbis  teach 
that  because  this  command  is  only  for  certain  seven  days 
in  the  year,  therefore  women  need  not  observe  it.  And 
so  are  many  cornmandments,  only  for  a  certain  time.  I 
wish  the  woman-suffrage  ladies  had  lived  in  the  time 
of  the  Talmudists,  and  had  given  them  some  of  their 
lectures. 

Moses  commanded  that  on  the  four  corners  of  the 
garment  every  Israelite  must  have  tassels,  or,  as  some 
falsely  translate,  "fringes."  He  also  said  that  they 
should  be  made  to  the  "  covering  with  which  thou  coverest 
thyself."  It  follows,  therefore,  no  doubt,  that  quilts  and 
blankets  must  have  those  tassels  (Zizith).  There  is  also 
the  reason  for  this  commandment  given.  The  Bible  says, 
"  that  ye  may  look  upon  it  and  remember  all  the  com- 
mandments of  the  Lord  and  do  them."  Num.  XV  :  39.  The 
tassels  are  intended  to  remind  of  God  and  his  law.  The 
Rabbis  teach  that  because  it  says,  "  that  ye  may  look 
upon  them  and  remember,"  and  people  do  not  usually 
see  well  at  night,  therefore  the  commandment  of  having 
tassels  is  only  valid  in  day-time ;  consequently  it  falls 
under  the  category  of  commandments  which  depend  on 
a  certain  time,  namely,  day,  and  not  night ;  thus  women 
are  excluded. 

On  the  days  of  Passover  no  leaven  must  be  found  or 
seen  in  the  house  of  an  Israelite,  according  to  God's 
law.  But  the  Rabbis  know  how  to  avoid  this.  They  say 
that  if  you  make  a  sham  sale  of  your  leaven  to  a  Gentile, 


no  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

and  receive  one  cent  of  him  on  account  of  your  sale ; 
if  you  even  do  know  that  this  Gentile  has  no  idea  of 
buying  it,  that  he  is  worth  nothing,  knows  nothing  about 
the  leaven  sold,  only  does  it  to  please  you,  and  signs  your 
Hebrew  contract,  so  that  this  sham  sale  is  a  perfect 
mockery ;  still  you  deceive  God  with  it.  Men  know 
that  it  is  your  leaven,  the  contract  is  only  used  to  avoid 
God's  law;  but  God  must  be  expected  not  to  know  it. 
Also,  when  you  have  a  farm,  the  animals  must  rest  on  the 
Sabbath,  and  you  are  not  allowed  to  let  your  workmen 
work  your  field ;  but  you  make  a  sham  sale.  You  know 
that  no  one  would  take  the  farm  on  account  of  such  sale, 
but  you  tell  God  that  you  sold  it,  and  how  can  he  find  it 
out.? 

I  believe  I  have  given  the  reader  examples  enough  of 
the  rabbinical  codex,  so  that  any  body  can  see  what  sort 
of  a  Mosaic  law  the  Rabbis  teach.  I  by  no  means  feel 
inclined  to  c^uote  much  of  the  Talmud  and  codex ;  yet 
a  great  number  of  its  laws  have  no  better  Biblical  founda- 
tion than  those  I  have  cited.  Even  the  law  for  killing 
the  animals  after  the  Jewish  custom,  which  of  itself  is 
an  innocent,  perhaps  a  commendable  institution  (She- 
chitah),  is  devoid  of  any  Biblical  reason.  Moses  never 
commanded  it.  Some  Rabbis  in  the  Talmud  are  even  of 
opinion  that  in  the  wilderness  the  Jews  used  to  kill  their 
animals  in  a  different  way  (Bassar  nechirah).  There  is 
even  a  Mishnah  (in  "  Maasser  sheni ")  which  makes  one 
think  that  the  Jewish  method  of  killing  the  animals  by 
cutting  the  throat  only,  was  introduced  by  John  Hyr- 
kanus,  the  Maccabean.     According  to  that  Mishnah  it  is 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  Ill 

anyway  clear,  that  either  they  used  to  stun  the  animal  or 
to  kill  it  by  piercing,  (it  depends  on  the  meaning  of  the 
ambiguous  word  ^'' 7iokphin^''  which  means  either  to 
knock,  to  blow,  or  to  pierce,)  until  the  time  of  the  said 
John.  This  is  certain,  that  there  is  no  shade  of  a  reason 
to  think  that  Moses  commanded  to  kill  by  cutting  the 
throat.  The  way  by  which  the  Rabbis  tried  to  prove 
this  a  Mosaic  command  is  perfectly  absurd,  as  are  al- 
most all  their  interpretations. 

We  thus  see  that  Judaism,  as  it  is,  is  nothing  but  a  blind 
belief  against  reason.  It  degenerated  into  Rabbinism,  and 
is  not  only  very  far  from  keeping  the  law  of  God,  but  the 
rabbinical  law  is  often  against  Moses ;  it  is  a  perfect  in- 
sanity, carried  into  Judaism,  that  the  words  of  Moses 
may  be  fulfilled  :  "  The  Lord  shall  smite  thee  with  mad- 
ness and  blindness."  Deuter.  xxviii :  28.  Such  is  the 
blindness  which  befell  my  poor  people  of  God. 

We  have  seen,  before,  that  the  first  foundation  of  Juda- 
ism is  the  belief  of  the  mind.  This  could  not  have  been 
the  aim  of  the  Bible,  however.  Man's  depravity  lies  in 
his  heart,  so  that  the  religion  must  be  for  the  heart,  to 
break  and  bend  it,  to  turn  it  to  the  things  of  the  Spirit. 
Consequently,  the  belief  of  the  mind  was  only  necessary 
in  order  to  convince  the  heart ;  the  mind  must  be  used 
as  the  instrument  of  the  heart.  It  is  only  a  channel. 
The  mind  is  perishable,  is  the  flesh,  is  not  the  man.  The 
mind's  belief  is  the  preparatory  religion  for  the  heart. 
So  all  the  law  is  preparatory,  a  visible  religion,  a  service 
of  symbols,  a  visible  service,  a  visible  priest  as  mediator. 
As  the  visible  things  are  of  the  flesh  they  could  only  be 


12  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

hadows,  symbols  of  the  things  of  the  Spirit.  Now,  the 
nisapprehension  of  the  Rabbis  was,  taking  the  shadow 
or  the  real  thing.  They  did  not  look  after  the  aim  ;  they 
nistook  the  way  of  religion  for  the  religion  itself.  Thus 
hey  took  the  law  for  the  religion,  while  the  law  never 
vas  intended  to  be  the  religion.  They  stopped  with  the 
•eligion  of  the  mind,  and  went  no  farther.  So  they  had 
I  religion  of  the  mind,  of  the  flesh  only ;  a  visible  reli- 
gion which  required  an  everlasting  work.  If  there  is  no 
vork  there  is  no  religion.  Thus  I  said  in  the  beginning 
3f  the  last  chapter,  the  law  does  not  cure  radically ;  it  is 
)nly  a  medicine  which  is  to  be  perpetually  taken,  for  the 
iisease  remains.  You  are  spiritually  wounded  and  have 
;o  carry  the  plasters  with  your  wounds  all  your  life  long. 
^re  you  a  better,  a  spiritually  healthier  man  because  you 
keep  the  law  ?  No,  you  only  have  to  keep  it  because  you 
ire  sick.  If  you  break  it,  and  you  do  break  it,  you  are 
still  worse  for  the  responsibility  the  law  puts  upon  you. 
As  the  law  is  no  remedy  for  your  human  depravity,  it 
pacifies  not  the  yearning,  languishing  soul ;  it  removes 
not  your  weakness ;  it  gives  you  no  reconciliation  and 
atonement ;  it  pacifies  not  your  conscience ;  death  is 
still  more  fearful,  for  you  have  not  fulfilled  the  require- 
ments of  the  law.  Why  do  you  believe  the  law,  then  ? 
Because  your  mmd  makes  you  believe  that  the  law  is 
from  God,  on  account  of  the  miracles.  Thus  Judaism 
is  a  Mief  of  the  mind  only ;  besides  that,  the  Talmud  is 
against  it,  namely,  a  belief  in  spite  of  common  sense. 

The  belief  of  the  mind  is   like  that  of  a  sick  man  en- 
trusting the  doctor  with  the  care  of  his  body  because  he 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  II3 

has  heard  that  the  doctor  is  able  to  cure  him.  The  mind 
trusts  on  account  of  the  doctor's  reputation.  As  soon 
as  the  medicine  evinces  the  doctor's  skill  by  its  good 
effect,  then  the  patient's  heart  also  gets  confidence ;  he 
then  believes  with  his  heart,  he  feels  safe  under  the  doc- 
tor's care.  Should  the  medicine  not  have  the  desired 
effect,  and  he  only  has  the  doctor's  assurance  that  after  a 
long  time  he  will  be  cured,  he  can  only  continue  the 
medicine  on  account  of  a  blind  belief  of  the  ?nind.  This 
is  exactly  the  case  with  believing  the  law.  If  you  did 
not  think  that  you  were  spiritually  sick  you  would  want 
no  religion.  But  you  feel  sick,  and  fear  the  consequences, 
and  take  the  medicine,  and  you  believe  the  law,  for  you 
consider  it  to  be  able  to  cure  you.  You  only  know  the 
law  by  reputation  and  trust,  without  seeing  the  effect. 
The  doctor's  ability  is  not  proved  by  your  own  case;  you 
perceive  no  improvement.  But  what  can  you  do  when 
your  mind  sees  that  the  Bible  must  be  from  God  1  Your 
mind  thus  believes  blindly  until  death.  There  can  be 
no  love  for  keeping  the  law  as  long  as  only  the  mind  be- 
lieves. The  law  is  a  schoobnaster^  it  only  teaches  to> 
believe. 

After  finding  that  Judaism  remained  to  be  the  religion 
of  the  mind,  and  took  the  law  for  religion,  we  can 
easily  trace  up  the  historical  way  by  which  it  degene- 
rated into  Rabbinisra.  A  law  which  leaves  the  heart 
unaffected  had  to  degenerate.  A  law  cannot  be  written, 
for  every  circumstance  of  life;  every  lawyer  and  judge 
has  to  decide  by  analogy  from  one  case  to  thej^other,  and 
so  the  Rabbis  had  to  do.     Much  was  necessarily  left  to 


114 


MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 


their   arbitrariness.     As   long   as  they  kept   to  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  Bible,  and  did  not   depend  on   their  own 
wisdom,  and  legislated  in   accordance  with  the  Biblical 
spirit,  in   humility  and   subjection   to  God,  so  long  they 
were  executing  the  law  in  His  name,  so  long  they  steered 
towards  the   aim    of  the    religion.     But  not    everybody 
could  study  the  law,  not  everybody  has  the  brain  for  it ; 
knowledge  and,  in  some  respects,  shrewdness   are  neces- 
sary for  the  lawyer  and  judge.     Thus,  the  best-brained 
men  became  the  Rabbis,  and  consequently,  the  authority. 
In  consequence  of  this,  their  first  sin  was  in  leaving  the 
spirit  of  contrition  and  meekness  which   David  and  the 
prophets  breathe,  and  turning  to  sophistry  and  haughti- 
ness.    Knowledge  of  the  law  and  shrewdness  were  the 
highest   in  estimation.     It  is  considered   by  the  Talmud 
as  about  the  highest  state  of  wisdom  to  be  able  to  prove, 
by  one  hundred  and  fifty  sophistical  reasons,  that  a  thing 
which  was  really  legally  unclean  could   still   be  consid- 
ered clean  according  to  the  law.     This  beats  the  Grecian 
Sophist,  and  the  Jewish  Sophist  was  more  dangerous,  as 
he  taught  with  the   dignity   of  the  divine  teacher.     The 
blind,  erring  Jewish  Rabbi,  with  his  much  brain  and  vast 
amount  of  legal  knowledge  and  traditions,  almost  always 
believed  in  his  own  authority.     What  was  the  authority  ? 
The  brain,  the  learning  of  men,  not  the  Spirit  of  God. 
The  head  alone  was  working  in  religion,  it  went  on  with- 
out the  heart,  until   it  wandered   into  a   spiritual  wilder- 
ness. Things  went  so  far  that  the  Rabbis  ceased  to  teach 
God  and  His  word,  but  themselves  and   their  sophistry 
and    absurd    perversions    of    Scripture.       And     as    the 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  II5 

prophet  said,  "Precept  upon  precept,  line  upon  line 
here  a  little  and  there  a  little,"  so  they  made  law  upon 
law,  ordinance  upon  ordinance.  The  people  were  sin- 
ning and  they  gave  them  an  ordinance  to  observe,  think- 
ing this  would  please  the  Lord.  "  Here  a  little,  there  a 
little,"  a  little  saying  with  the  lips,  a  little  doing  in  keep- 
ing a  command.  But  the  Lord  w^ants  all  of  you,  your 
heart,  your  life ;  the  center  of  your  heart  you  must  give 
Him,  even  when  you  do  nothing.  The  law  should  only 
be  the  way  for  the  heart  to  go  and  cling  to  God ;  to  re- 
mind you  and  teach  you  to  believe  Him,  and  to  show 
you  how  to  tame  your  wild  heart.  The  religion  must  be 
intended  for  the  heart ;  the  heart  draws  the  whole  man. 
In  the  heart  God  reveals  to  you  that  you  have  atone- 
ment; the  heart  wants  to  be  reconciled  with  Him.  You 
must  live  religion,  think  it,  feel  it,  not  only  do  it.  Thus 
Judaism  ceased  to  be  a  religion  in  the  real  sense  and  ob- 
ject of  the  word.  What  they  called  religion  could  even 
no  longer  be  the  religion  of  all,  for  it  takes  much  brain 
and  an  everlasting  study  to  know  the  rabbinical  law  be- 
fore you  can  keep  it.  Thus  religion  became  a  monopoly ; 
the  learned  men  were  the  only  religious  people,  and  the 
common  man  had  to  look  up  to  them,  not  only  as  the 
learned  but  also  as  the  pious  ones.  Learning  became 
identical  with  piety.  The  man  of  the  country,  who  even 
had  no  school,  was  fearfully  neglected,  despised,  and 
hated  by  the  society  of  the  learned.  In  some  respects 
the  common  man  was  even  considered  unclean.  Those 
who  learned  formed  a  kind  of  society  (Chaberim), 
and    extra    laws    were    made    to  be  observed    in  com- 


Il6  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

municating  with  the  countryman.  A  sort  of  an  aristoc- 
racy sprung  into  life.  It  was  an  aristocracy  of  learning ; 
but,  nevertheless,  the  most  heartless,  pernicious  and 
wicked  one  which  ever  ruined  a  nation.  The  term 
"countryman"  {A?H-haarez)  became  identical  with  "ig- 
noramus," so  that  even  to-day  the  word  ''''  Am-haarez''  is 
used  in  the  common  jargon  of  the  Jews,  signifying  the 
ignoramus  in  matters  of  law  s^nd  religion,  while  the  Jews, 
generally,  not  understanding  the  Hebrew,  do  not  even 
know  that  they  really  say  countryman  in  place  of  ignora- 
mus. "  The  {am-haarez)  country-man  cannot  be  pious," 
is  a  proverb  of  the  Fathers,  and  means  the  unlearned. 
Some  of  the  sages,  I  i)elieve  it  is  the  great  Rabbi  Aki- 
bah,  says,  "  It  is  lawful  to  tear  an  ignoramus  like  a  fish, 
even  on  the  day  of  atonement,"  He  did  surely  not  mean 
it  literally,  but  expressed  only  his  enthusiasm  for  learn- 
ing and  law,  and  his  hatred  of  the  poor,  neglected  man 
of  the  country,  who  had  no  school.  "An  unlearned," 
or  "  countryman,  is  like  unto  an  ass,"  is  another  human 
proverb  of  the  ^''sages''  {}).  There  are  a  great  many 
such  brutal  expressions  in  the  Talmud.  They  also  teach 
that  a  learned  man  must  nurture  hatred,  and  take  re- 
venge like  a  serpent  (nokem  venoter  kenachash).  The 
consequence  was,  that  the  countryman  hated  the  Rabbi 
in  return,  as  Rabbi  Akibah,  who  did  not  commence  to 
study  until  his  advanced  age,  testifies  of  his  awful  hatred 
for  the  learned  people  in  the  time  of  his  own  ignorance. 
Indeed,  it  was  impossible  for  the  common  man  to  be  any- 
thing else  than  a  sinner,  as  the  Rabbis  made  more  law 
than  they  could  keep,  and  themselves  were  carrying  out 
haughtiness  and  hatred  to  excess. 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  II7 

This,  my  dear  reader,  was  the  spirit  of  the  authorities 
of  my  people,  when  they  rejected  Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
not  to  speak  of  the  hypocrites  who  devoured  widows' 
houses,  against  which  the  Talmud  also  warns.  I  have 
only  shown  you  a  very  little  of  the  character  of  the  good 
Rabbi  according  to  the  Talmud.  They  asked  the  single- 
hearted  man  who  followed  Christ,  whether  he  saw  the 
authorities  believing.  Every  thing  must  go  after  human 
authority.  The  human  authority  outgrew  that  of  God. 
They  could  not  believe  that  anything  good  was  coming 
out  from  Galilee,  from  the  country.  They  were  punished 
by  their  own  sins,  by  their  self-dependence  and  haughti- 
ness. 

I  have  already  said  that  man's  knowledge  and  wisdom 
are  not  identical  with  his  "I,"  but  are  inward  posses- 
sions, as  money  is  an  outward  one.  Brain  and  knowledge 
are  the  most  precious  gifts,  if  used  in  the  right  way,  in 
subjection  to  and  in  the  service  of  their  Giver.  But  they 
are  also  the  source  of  many  evils  when  misused.  They 
are  the  greatest  source  of  temptations  to  vanity  and  con- 
ceit, to  ambition,  jealousy  and  hatred.  These  vices  may 
look  in  the  eyes  of  man  more  spiritualized.  The  man 
of  learning  meets  with  more  forbearance  for  his  vices ; 
his  ambition  is  surely  considered  excusable.  But  how 
many  things  may  appear  even  righteous  in  our  own  eyes, 
yet  are  wickedness  in  the  sight  of  our  Omniscient 
Father  !  If  you  depend  on  your  wisdom  you  depend 
on  your  '"''self  even  more  than  the  man  of  money.  The 
owner  is  always  subjected  to  the  danger  of  losing  his- 
property,  which  is  not  the  case  with   the  learned.     Some 


Il8  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

men  of  certain  learning  believe  even  that  they  are  nearer 
to  God,  and  holier  men  because  they  are  learned.  Many 
of  them  are  the  most  jealous,  selfish  people,  with  an  ob- 
noxious, aristocratic  air.  They  often  wear  a  sweet 
face  and  make  a  show  of  meekness  and  humility,  but 
they  may  be  proud  of  their  humility.  And  the  learned 
man  is  surely  more  responsible.  Man's  depending  on 
himself  is  the  center  of  sin,  and  makes  him  look  for 
nothing  else  but  perishable  gifts;  as  the  " i-^'//" "  with  its 
learning  and  wisdom  are  perishable.  Very  often  the 
man  of  self  believes  in  God  and  looks  to  Him  for  every 
thing  he  wants.  But  what  does  he  want  ?  Not  the  re- 
moval of  his  self-dependence,  he  wants  not  God  Him- 
self, to  be  dissolved  in  the  Divine  humility,  purity,  sweet- 
ness, love  and  truth.  He  wishes  an  addition  to  his  self- 
ishness ;  he  prays  for  nothing  but  outward  things.  He 
dishonors  God,  he  sins  in  praying,  his  belief  becomes  a 
source  of  sin,  he  is  a  pious  sinner.  Many  an  affliction 
is  sent  by  our  loving  Father,  intended  as  our  best  bless- 
ing ;  the  pious  sinner  misses  such  precious  blessings. 
Shining  glory  is  all  he  wants.  It  is  immaterial  whether 
one  wants  to  shine  with  money,  brain,  or  even  with  reli- 
gion. Religious  wickedness  and  shine  is  surely  the  most 
abominable  of  all. 

My  people  Israel's  wickedness  is  a  religious  one.  For 
these  nineteen  centuries  learning  shines,  human  authority 
leads.  "/,"  nothing  but  "/."  The  mind  and  the  shine. 
Israel  with  his  Rabbis  looked  for  a  Messiah  who  was 
promised.  But  the  Messiah  of  the  mind  is  the  one  of 
the   flesh.     They   expected   nothing   else   but   a    mighty 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  II9 

King,  who  should  beat  the  armies  of  the  world,  and  sit 
upon  a  throne  of  gold,  making  others  work  for  his 
people.  They  pray  for  a  Messiah  and  God  answers  by 
many  afflictions,  by  many  fearful,  gaping  wounds ;  but, 
alas !  of  no  avail.  Come  into  the  circles  of  Orthodox 
Jews  to-day,  and  you  will  hnd  Rabbinism  the  same  as  it 
was  eighteen  centuries  ago.  Sophistry  and  subtlety  are 
the  spirit  of  learning,  the  subtle  head  is  the  authority. 
The  fruit  of  the  authorities  is  an  endless  number  of  cer- 
emonies. The  people  are  experienced  in  keeping  them 
now,  but  still  the  unlearned  is  fearfully  despised  unless 
he  .is  rich.  Every  thing  is  founded  on  a  blind  belief. 
Necessarily  every  one  must  break  the  law  more  or  less, 
and  the  very  pious  ones  endure  fastings  and  everlasting 
mouth-prayers,  but  they  never  hear  the  voice  of  God 
whispering  in  their  hearts,  "  I  have  forgiven  "  (Salachthi). 
All  their  religion  consists  in  forms ;  do  this,  do  that. 
Here  a  little,  there  a  little  ;  nothing  else  but  doing. 
Even  praying  becomes  a  form  for  certain  hours.  Prayer 
as  a  communication  with  God,  as  the  free  utterance  of 
the  spirit  between  man  and  God,  the  closet  prayer,  is  un- 
known in  Israel.  The  prayer-book  is  every  thing,  and 
this  is  written  in  Hebrew,  thus  intelligible  for  the  learned 
ones  only.  They  pray  with  the  lips.  For  the  holidays, 
there  is  also  a  good  deal  of  so-called  poetry  (Pint  Mach- 
sor)  to  be  said,  which  sounds  more  like  a  travesty  than 
poetry.  The  language  of  the  most  of  that  so-called 
poetry  is  not  to  be  considered  a  bad  language,  it  is  ?io 
language,  but  a  bombast  of  rhymes  and  quibbles.  The 
poet  forms  words  and  expressions  after  his  own  method 


I20  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

He  does  not  pray,  but  shows  his  mastership  in  torturing 
the  language.  The  best  Hebraist  has  to  give  special 
study  to  some  of  this  poetry  in  order  to  decipher  it,  and 
when  he  has  succeeded  he  often  finds  it  to  be  a  part  of 
the  Talmudical  law  in  rhymes.  The  great  poet  wanted  to 
show  his  knowledge  of  the  Talmud,  as  well  as  his  mas- 
tership in  manufacturing  language.  Some  very  pious 
Jews  read  this  kind  of  poetry  with  such  earnest,  long 
faces,  frequently  looking  up  to  heaven,  and  even  shed- 
ding tears,  without  understanding  one  sentence  of  what 
they  say.  One  may  even  be  tempted  to  think  that  some- 
times the  poet  himself  did  not  understand  what  he 
wrote.  I  have  spoken  in  the  last  chapter  of  the  solem- 
nity of  the  service  of  the  day  of  atonement.  The  be- 
ginning of  the  service  of  this  day,  on  the  previous 
evening,  is  intended  to  be  the  most  solemn  hour  of  it; 
but  the  initiatory  piece  read,  and  called,  "AW  Niddre,'" 
may  fill  the  heart  of  a  civilized  man,  who  understands  it, 
with  horror  instead  of  devotion.  At  first  the  piece  is 
written  in  the  Chaldaic  language,  which  sounds,  to  al- 
most every  one  of  the  audience,  like  Chinese.  And  the 
following  is  about  the  substance  of  what  it  says  : 

"  All  the  vows,  pledges,  oaths  and  obligations,  which 
we  shall  vow,  or  give,  or  swear,  or  take  upon  ourselves 
from  this  to  the  next  day  of  atonement,  shall  be  null, 
naught,  void  and  zero.  Our  vow  shall  be  no  vow,  our 
swearing  no  swearing,"  etc. 

Must  not  every  sensible  man  be  astonished  that  a 
people  can  say  such  words  in  their  most  sacred  hour  of 
the  year,  and  that  before  the  living  God  !  But  it  is  a 
fact.     And  not  only  the  orthodox  Jews  say  it,  we  can  find 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  121 

many  congregations  in  this  country,  who  claim  to  be 
Reformers  all  the  year,  but  Avhen  the  atoning-day 
comes  they  are  afraid,  and  cling  to  all  kinds  of  supersti- 
tion, and  would  not  banish  that  horrible  piece  from  their 
synagogue.  The  fact  is,  they  do  not  know  what  it 
means;  it  is  Chaldaic,  and  being  used  to  hear  it  from 
their  childhood,  sung  with  a  moving  melody,  they  think 
it  was  a  moving  prayer.  Thus  they  perfectly  defile  their 
most  holy  day  by  such  a  fearful  sham  prayer.  The 
Talmudical  reasons  for  the  saying  of  the  Kol  Niddre  will 
not  interest  the  reader.  There  is  surely  no  reason  in 
their  reasons.  It  is,  however,  not  so  bad  in  its  meaning 
^s  it  seems.  It  is  only  intended  to  declare  oaths  and 
vows  void  when  they  are  made  under  the  impression  of 
error,  when  one  swears  falsely  through  a  mistake.  But 
certainly  this  is  not  explained  in  the  piece.  According 
to  the  literal  meaning  of  the  piece,  anybody  is  apt  to 
think  that  the  religious  Jews  do  not  consider  an  oath 
binding,  which  is  not  the  case.  On  the  contrary,  the 
real  orthodox  Jew  has  great  respect  for  an  oath,  and  is 
not  to  be  considered  apt  to  break  one.  An  oath  is  very 
sacred  with  the  Jewish  orthodoxy.  (That  is,  an  oath 
before  a  Rabbi  or  any  court  of  justice.)  There  have 
been  even  orthodox  authorities  who  protested  against  the 
saying  of  this  abominable  piece  (like  R.  lizchack  bar 
Shesheth),  but  to  no  effect.  The  spirit  of  error  prevailed. 
This  will  illustrate  sufficiently  how  the  spirit  of  the  syna- 
gogue has  also  degenerated.  Some  Jews  to-day  say,  "  I  do 
not  believe  in  such  things  as  Kol  Niddre,  and  this  is  not 
essential  to   Judaism.     This  is  all  true,  but  I  only  cite  it 


122  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

to  show  how  a  spirit  of  error  has  come  over  the  syna- 
gogue. Supposing  all  the  Jews  would  give  up  Kol 
Niddre  to-day,  it  would  still  be  a  historical  fact  that  they 
were  in  error  and  off  from  the  way  of  religion.  Such 
errors  I  only  cite  to  show  the  result  of  a  religion  of  forms  ; 
these  errors  prove  the  obliquity  of  the  Jewish  spirit. 
God  forbid  that  I  should  write  anything  out  of  antag- 
onistic feeling.  I  feel  nothing  but  love  and  pity  for  my 
people,  but  you  cannot  show  the  truth  till  you  have 
pointed  out  the  error.  If  the  Jewish  religion  were  accord- 
ing to  the  will  of  God  the  Jewish  heart  could  not  become 
so  petrified  as  to  cling  to  form  and  to  pray  Kolniddre. 
Why  did  the  spirit  of  the  synagogue  degenerate  into  what 
it  is  ?  The  spirit  of  prayer,  as  seen  in  Hannah,  David, 
Elias,  Hezekiah,  Habakkuk  and  Daniel,  is  entirely  ban- 
ished from  Israel.  A  rabbinical  codex  points  out  the 
words  to  be  used  m  praying. 

The  Jewish  heart  yearns,  perhaps  more  than  any 
other,  for  that  unknown  aim.  As  an  average,  God's 
people  have  heart  and  conscience.  The  fear  of  death  is 
beyond  description ;  the  only  hope  is  founded  on  the  fact 
of  being  a  son  of  Israel  and  Abraham.  The  heart  is  left 
hollow,  but  the  people  believe  what  the  Rabbis  have 
written  ;  they  believe  with  their  minds.  They  believe  the 
Rabbis  so  much,  that  they  do  not  even  read  the  Bible  ; 
if  one  studies  it  is  the  Talmudical  literature.  Bible 
study  is  considered  a  theme  too  trifling,  as  it  takes  no 
subtlety  to  understand  it.  The  shining  glory  of  learning 
is  the  rabbinical  lore.  All  they  usually  read  of  the 
Scripture  is  the  passage  of  the  Pentateuch  which  has  to 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  1 23 

be  read  on  the  Sabbath.  There  are  a  very  few  who,  for 
the  sake  of  the  study  of  the  classic  Hebrew,  study  the 
Bible,  but  a  man  can  be  a  Rabbi  of  reputation  without 
having  ever  read  all  the  prophets. 

As  regards  the  Jews  themselves,  I  believe  I  have  good 
reason  to  be  proud  of  being  a  Jew.  It  means  something 
to  be  a  son  of  Abraham.  Notwithstanding  their 
oppressed  condition,  a  great  number  of  them  have  dis- 
tinguished themselves  in  every  branch  of  arts  and 
science.  In  proportion  to  the  number  of  souls,  they  are 
more  numerously  represented  in  the  high  schools  and 
universities  of  Europe  than  any  other  nationality.  The 
American  Jews  are  an  exception.  They  are  generally 
more  tender-hearted  than  the  other  people.  Their  blood 
is  proved  to  be  the  purest  on  earth  by  the  fact  that 
notwithstanding  their  being  without  real  religion,  still 
they  are  not  addicted  to  low  vices  and  crimes.  When 
do  you  hear  of  a  Jewish  murder  ?  When  do  you  see  one 
a  drunkard,  or  a  burglar.^  They  have  also  retained  a 
pure  belief  in  the  One  God  ;  alas !  the  belief  can  only  be 
one  of  the  head,  which  does  not  govern  the  life.  Not- 
withstanding the  dreadful  rabbinical  law,  there  are  a 
great  many  excellent  and  sublime  moral  teachings  scat- 
tered all  over  the  rabbinical  literature.  The  people  of 
God  are  not  devoid  of  the  best  moral  teachings  (if  moral 
teaching  alone  could  make  the  man  good).  They  teach 
the  fear  of  the  Lord,  but  as  the  prophet  said,  "  And  their 
fear  towards  me  is  taught  by  the  precept  of  men." 
Isa.  xxix :  13. 

Now,    my   dear    reader,    supposing   one    believes    the 


124  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

Rabbis,  as  the  humble  writer  of  these  pages  once  did, 
supposing  he  keeps  every  single  law  of  their  code;  can 
the  law  satisfy?  Can  Judaism  in  any  shape  pacify  the 
heart?  Can  a  soul  find  rest  and  peace  at  the  bosom  of 
the  old  Rabbi?  Has  the  Talmud  any  balm  for  the 
human  wounds  ?  Is  the  aim  after  which  the  heart 
yearns,  for  which  mankind  sighs,  to  be  realized  in  a 
synagogue  ?  Does  a  ray  from  heaven  ever  break  through 
the  windows  of  a  synagogue  to  fill  an  empty  heart  with 
a  mild  warmth?  Can  the  man  in  despair  find  consola- 
tion there  ?  Is  there  any  hope  for  the  sinking  soul  ? 
Have  they  arms  with  which  to  meet  that  terrible  foe 
called  death  ?  Where  is  the  object  of  the  religion,  then  ? 
The  soul  languishes  to  starvation,  yearns  after  a  drop  of 
living  water  in  the  great  wilderness  of  this  life,  but  the 
rock  which  gave  living  water  to  Israel's  children  is  taken 
from  them.  And  as  long  as  it  was  with  them,  even  Moses 
struck  the  rock,  even  Moses  came  in  passion  and  worked 
to  get  living  water.  Israel  strikes  the  rock,  but  God 
said,  "  Speak  and  trust,  else  thou  canst  not  come  into  the 
land  of  rest." 

In  what  manner  Judaism  influenced  the  private  life  of 
the  jews  to  give  solace,  peace  and  felicity  for  this  life,  I 
do  not  consider  necessary  to  discuss  here.  Surely  such 
religion  can  be  of  no  good  influence.  Not  to  touch  here 
the  point  of  dogmatical  atonement,  there  is  a  certain 
atonement  which  is  to  be  seen  in  this  world  ;  it  is  the 
perception  of  the  heart  of  being  nearer  to  the  living  God, 
and  to  have  life  and  action  governed  by  this  perception. 
It  is  the  everlasting  consciousness  of  having  a  religion, 


OR,    JUDAISM     AND    CHRISTIANITY.  125 

the  Strength  to  resist  the  power  of  the  flesh  by  the  relig- 
ion, the  peace  of  mind  and  heart,  the  holiness  of  life, 
which  is  the  seal  of  atonement.  This  kind  of  atonement 
is  not  known  in  Israel.  The  religion  of  the  most  pious 
Orthodox  does  not  exercise  any  influence  over  his  social 
and  business  life.  The  religion  does  surely  not  improve 
the  Jewish  character.  The  Jew  never  tastes  the  sweet- 
ness of  God,  nor  does  he  comprehend  what  atonement 
means,  how  it  feels.  They  have  not  the  least  idea  of  it. 
The  religion  is,  as  I  said,  nothing  but  forms ;  do  this,  do 
that,  "  here  a  little,  there  a  little." 

We  may  therefore  say,  with  Saul  of  Tarsus,  that  the 
Jews  have  a  zeal  for  God,  but  not  according  to  knowl- 
edge. They  suffer  much  with  their  piety  ;  that  rabbinical 
codex  is  a  heavy,  ugly  burden,  but  they  mean  to  please 
God  with  it.  They  are  erring  zealots,  or  zealous  errants. 
They  deserve  the  sympathy  of  every  devout  man.  The 
hand  of  the  Lord  is  visible  in  their  error.  The  origin- 
ators of  the  Talmud  could  not  have  taught  such  a  law 
without  being  blinded.  People  with  hearts,  such  as  the 
children  of  Israel  have,  would  not  have  yielded  them- 
selves to  such  insanity  as  to  consider  it  their  holy 
religion,  and  to  be  able  to  die  for  it.  It  is  nothing  but  a 
punishment  of  God  to  have  such  a  religion.  They  have 
shed  streams  of  blood  for  this  so-called  religion.  Where 
do  the  broadest  streams  of  martyr  blood  which  wind 
their  way  through  the  annals  of  history  originate,  if  not 
in  the  poor  heart  of  Israel  ?  God's  curse  through  Moses 
and  the  prophets  is  fulfilled. 

There   is    another   comparatively  small    sect   of   Jews 

9 


126  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

dispersed  in  the  East,  called  Karaites,  who  do  not 
believe  the  Talmud,  and  ridicule  its  authority.  They 
keep  the  law  according  to  the  dead  letters.  They  are 
surely  right  in  not  accepting  the  authority  of  the  Talmud, 
and  show  very  successfully  where  the  Rabbis  are  against 
the  law  in  many  places.  Yet  the  principle  of  keeping 
the  dead  letter  is  still  less  of  a  religion  than  even  the 
talmudical  Judaism.  For  the  execution  of  the  law 
undoubtedly  requires  an  authority  for  every  generation, 
and  the  Rabbis,  occupying  the  seat  of  Moses,  had  author- 
ity to  legislate  for  their  time  only,  in  agreement  with  the 
spirit  of  the  law,  as  I  have  said  before.  As  long  as  the 
sanctuary  existed  the  Jews  were  under  the  obligation  to 
obey  their  teachers.  The  wrong  of  the  Rabbis  was  in 
deviating  from  the  spirit  of  the  Bible,  the  wrong  use  they 
made  of  their  authority.  They  degenerated  and  made 
too  much  of  themselves.  So  long  as  the  law  was  in  force 
there  was  a  visible  sanctuary,  and  also,  so  to  say,  an 
invisible  one  in  the  authority  which  was  given  to  the 
legislative  body  of  the  nation  (Synhedria)  to  regulate  the 
law  according  to  the  time  there  was  a  human  authority 
necessary  for  the  old  dispensation.  Both  sanctuary  and 
authority  were  necessary  for  the  keeping  of  the  law.  No 
law  can  be  in  force  without  some  human  authority  with 
it.  With  the  fall  of  the  nation,  with  the  destruction  of 
the  temple,  with  the  dispersion  of  the  people,  there  the 
authority  ceased  with  the  law.  The  Lord  destroyed 
everything  necessary  for  the  keeping  of  the  law.  With 
the  fulfilbnent   of    the    law   its    church,  its    head     and 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  I27 

the  legislative  authority  became   superfluous  and   were 

destroyed. 

The  Talmud  bases  all  its  authority  upon  the  following 

passage  in 

Deut.  xvii :  8 :  "If  there  arise  a  matter  too  hard  for 
thee  in  judgment  between  blood  and  blood, 
between  plea  and  plea,  and  between  stroke  and 
stroke,  being  matters  of  controversy  within  thy 
gates,  then  shalt  thou  arise  and  get  thee  up  into 
the  place  which  the  Lord  thy  God  shall  choose. 
And  thou  shalt  come  unto  the  priests,  the  Levites, 
and  unto  the  judge  that  shall  be  in  those  days, 
and  enquire;  and  they  shall  shew  thee  the  sen- 
tence of  judgment.  And  thou  shalt  do  according 
to  the  sentence  which  they  of  that  place  which 
the  Lord  shall  choose  shall  shew  thee;  and  thou 
shalt  observe  to  do  according  to  all  that  they 
inform  thee.  According  to  the  sentence  of  the 
law  which  they  shall  teach  thee,  and  according 
to  the  judgment  which  they  shall  tell  thee  thou 
shalt  do ;  thou  shalt  ?iot  decline  from  the  sentence 
which  they  shall  sheiu  thee  to  the  I'ight  nor  to  the 
leftr 

The  last  words  of  this  citation,  "  thou  shalt  not  decline 
from  the  sentence  which  they  shall  shew  thee  to  the  right 
nor  to  the  left,"  are  the  foundation  upon  which  the  Tal- 
mud is  built.  Its  authors  say  that  every  Israelite  owes 
them  obedience  because  it  is  forbidden  to  decline  {lav 
delo  thassoor).  But  we  must  not  forget  that  in  this  very 
passage  the  authority  is  only  given  in  connection  with 
the  place  "  which  the  Lord  thy  God  shall  choose.''  As  soon 
as  the  chosen  place  is  destroyed  there  is  no  authority. 
Place,  and  sanctuary,  and  priest,  and  judge,  and  elder 
formed  together  the  visible  church  of  the  visible  law; 


128  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

neither  can  exist  without  the  other;  each  integrates  the 
other.  The  Tahnudists  did  not  look  upon  it  in  this  true 
way. 

But   even   so  long  as   the  law  was   in  force,  and   the 
Rabbis  had  authority,  they  were  not  allowed  to  put  their 
ordinances  down  in  writing,  because  it  was  only  for  the 
time;  their  ordinances  could  only  have  the  durability  of 
their   authority,    namely,   their    time.     One    generation 
could  not  prescribe  for  the  other,  for  the  coming  genera- 
tion had  the  same  authority  as  the  preceding.     The  very 
passage  of  Deuter.  I  have  cited  above,  and   upon  which 
the  Rabbis  founded  their  authority,  also  forbids  to  make 
laws    for    coming    generations,    as    far   as    the    author- 
ity is  given  in  connection    with    the    time.     Therefore 
it  was  considered  like  two  laws ;  one  written,  for  all  the 
generations,  the  law  of  Moses,  the  other   oral,  for   every 
single  generation,  which  was  not  permitted  to  be  written. 
{Debarim  shebaal peh  e  atha  reshai  leomron  bekethab.)     But 
towards  the   end  of  the   second   century,  as   the   nation 
became   depressed  and  persecuted,  the  Rabbi  saw  the 
danger  of  losing  the  oral  law  with  the  loss  of  a  legislative 
body  at  the  head  of  the  nation,  and  they  were  blinded  to 
believe  that  the  oral  law  of  the  different  generations  was 
binding  as  much  as  the  law  of  Moses   (not  to  speak  of 
their  not  seeing  the  signs   of  the  time,  that  the  law  was 
altogether   without   effect    now,   and    that   they  had  no 
authority  whatever),  they   wrote   their  oral  law  down  for 
the   coming   generations.     Supposing    the  law    was    not 
abolished  now,  and  consequently  the  leaders  of  the  nation 
had  the  right  to  have  their  oral  law,  still  then  the  Talmud 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  I29 

would  be  of  no  authority,  for  it  never  had  any,  but  as  an 
oral  law,  /.  e.,  only  a  temporary  authority.  The  writing 
of  the  Talmud  was  against  the  principle  of  oral  law,  as 
this  ought  to  be  changeable.  Thus  we  find  error  upon 
error. 

Returning  to  our  Karaites,  now,  we  may  say  that, 
notwithstanding  our  agreeing  with  them  that  the  now 
written  oral  law,  namely,  the  Talmud,  is  an  imposition^ 
for  it  is  no  oral  law,  still  they  err  in  denying  the  principle 
of  the  oral  law,  because  the  written  law  can  not  be  suffi- 
cient with  the  dead  letter,  but  has  to  have  a  head  of 
the  nation  to  apply  the  law  in  accordance  with  its  spirit 
and  with  the  time.  In  other  words,  the  law  can  only  be 
binding  with  an  oral  law,  that  is,  with  one  of  an  author- 
ity of  the  chosen  place,  or  not  at  all. 

While  not  proposing  to  dwell  here  upon  the  man/ 
contentions  between  the  Karaites  and  Talmudists,  I 
must  mention  the  one  about  the  Jewish  Calendar.  The 
Karaites  have  not  accepted  the  Jewish  Calendar,  and 
their  holidays  fall,  most  of  the  time,  on  different  days. 
In  examining  their  reasons,  we  shall  find  that  the  Ka- 
raites are  perfectly  right ;  for  the  acceptance  of  the  Cal- 
endar on  the  part  of  the  Rabbis,  was  not  only  without 
any  Biblical  authority,  but  against  Scripture ;  as  the 
Jewish  holidays  certainly  do  not  fall  on  the  days  ap- 
pointed by  the  law.  The  Karaites  show,  and  anybody 
can  see  it,  that  the  new  moon's  day  of  the  Calendar  often 
falls  not  at  the  time  of  the  real  new  moon.  Thus  the 
holidays  do  not  fall  on  the  day  of  the  month  appointed 
by  Moses.     The  day   of  atonement,  for  instance,  which 


130  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

is  the  tenth  day  of  the  seventh  month  according  to  the 
Bible,  falls  sometimes  on  the  ninth  or  eleventh  day  after 
each  new  moon.  The  appointment  of  the  day  for  new 
moon  or  holiday  was  left  by  Moses  to  the  authority  of 
every  generation  of  the  nation,  to  be  sanctified  accord- 
ing to  the  time  of  the  new  moon.  "  These  are  the  feasts 
of  the  Tord,  holy  convocations,  which  ye  shall  proclaim 
in  their  seasons y  Lev.  xxiii :  4.  Thus  they  had  no  more 
authority  to  accept  a  Calendar  for  the  future  generations 
than  to  impose  the  Talmud  upon  them  ;  for  the  authority 
of  every  generation  had  to  proclaim  the  new  moon  and 
holidays  ;  it  belongs  to  the  oral  law,  moreover,  as  the 
Calendar,  of  itself,  is  not  according  to  the  law. 

It  seems  that  the  most  eminent  Rabbis  have  accepted 
that  Calendar,  but  with  aversion.  Several  centuries  after 
the  destruction  of  the  temple  the  Jews  still  had  a  kind 
of  religious  head  in  the  Patriarch  of  Palestine,  and  with 
him  some  kind  of  a  school  of  the  most  learned  Rabbis, 
claiming  to  have  the  authority  of  the  old  Synhedria. 
These  Rabbis  called  out  the  day  of  the  new  moon,  and 
thus  appointed  the  holidays.  Those  Israelites  living  too 
far  from  the  seat  of  the  Patriarch,  not  being  able  to 
know  within  a  few  days  when  the  new  moon  was  seen 
and  sanctified,  had  to  keep  two  days  as  holidays,  because 
they  did  not  know  which  was  the  right  one.  In  the 
second  century  the  Babylonian  Samuel,  who  was  an  as- 
tronomer, made  out  a  Calendar  and  offered  it  to  the 
authorities  in  Palestine,  but  they  refused  to  accept  it. 
They  paid  no  attention  to  the  astronomical  calculations, 
no  matter   how  correct  they  might  be,  and  acted  rather 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  I3I 

according  to  the  law.  But  the  patriarch  Rabbi,  Hillel 
II.,  who  lived  in  the  fourth  century,  accepted  the 
Calendar,  making  it  binding  for  Israel.  The  Jews, 
trained  to  bow  before  the  rabbinical  authority,  ac- 
cepted the  Calendar.  Now  they  asked  the  Rabbis  in 
Palestine  whether  they  might  not  abolish  the  keeping  of 
the  second  holiday,  as  they  knew  now  which  was  the  right 
day.  No  sensible  man  could  see  any  reason  now  for 
keeping  two  days  instead  of  the  Biblical  one  any  longer, 
if  the  Calendar  was  right.  Still  they  answered  them  from 
Palestine,  "Take  heed  to  keep  the  customs  of  your 
fathers."  This  makes  it  obvious  that  the  Rabbis  had 
not  full  confidence  in  this  Calendar,  else  they  would  not 
have  retained  the  keeping  of  two  days.  This  Rabbi, 
Hillel  II.,  cannot  have  been  a  man  after  the  heart  of  the 
truly  believing  Jews.  He  showed  unbelieving  tenden- 
cies in  declaring  that  there  was  no  Messiah  for  Israel; 
the  promises  were  fulfilled  in  King  Hezekiah.  I  have 
already  said,  in  the  second  chapter  of  this  book,  that 
most  of  the  prophets  lived  after  Hezekiah,  and  the  Tal- 
mud also  rejected  emphatically  this  quasi  infidelity  of 
Rabbi  Hillel.  I  only  cite  it  to  show  the  spirit  of  the  one 
who  introduced  the  Calendar.  It  is  no  place  here  to  make 
any  historical  researches  about  the  usurpation,  character 
and  time  of  Hillel  II.  But  the  fact  that  the  Calendar 
accepted  by  him  was  rejected  before,  and  that  the  Rab- 
bis retained  the  keeping  of  two  days,  as  well  as  his  ex- 
pression about  the  Messiah,  show  plainly  that  the  Cal- 
endar could  not  have  been  accepted  without  aversion 
by  those  who  were  sincere  Jewish  believers.     Now,  see- 


132  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

ing  that  the  Karaites  very  successfully  contest  the  Cal- 
endar, and  show  that  the  Jews  do  not  even  keep  the 
Mosaic  holidays,  in  the  right  time,  thus  we  find  that  they 
cannot  even  keep  their  law. 

The  Lord  shows  that  the  law  is  abolished,  as  it 
is  a  thing  absolutely  impossible  to  keep  it  now. 
The  Jews  who  mean  to  keep  the  law  do  not,  can- 
not keep  it.  If  the  Calendar  is  wrong  (which  surely 
is  the  case  even  for  other  astronomical  reasons  as 
some  have  shown),  there  is  even  no  authority  now  who 
could  legally  appoint  the  day  for  holidays ;  in  case  the 
Jews  should  wish  to  keep  the  legal  time,  who  is  the 
authority }  We  have  seen  that  it  is  destroyed  with  the 
national  independence.  The  Reformers  have  abolished 
the  keeping  of  two  days,  not  thinking  of  the  fact 
that  the  Calendar  is  wrong.  Thinking  that  I  have 
cited  sufficiently  of  characteristics  of  the  Talmud, 
and  of  the  Synagogue,  which  is  possessed  by  the 
talmudical  spirit,  we  shall  close  this  chapter,  leav- 
ing it  to  the  unbiased  reader  to  form  his  own 
opinion  about  Judaism  as  it  is.  I  do  not  find  it  neces- 
sary to  make  any  conclusive  remarks.  But  after  showing 
the  corruptions  which  crept  into  the  religion  of  the  an- 
cient people,  I  find  myself  obliged  to  speak  again  of  the 
reform  which  claims  to  remove  them.  Justice  requires 
me  to  devote  the  next  chapter  to  the  Jewish  reform,  its 
cause  and  error,  before  we  can  speak  of  the  divine  re- 
form, of  a  divine  religion. 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  135 


CHAPTER  X. 

CAUSE  AND  ERROR  OF  THE  REFORM. 

"  Behold,  the  word  of  the  Lord  is  nuto  them  a  reproach  ;  they  have  no 
delight  in  it."    Jek.  vi:  10. 

After  what  we  saw  of  the  corruptions  of  Judaism  in 
the  last  chapter,  we  can  surely  not  blame  those  Jews  of 
this  century  who  demanded  a  reform:  The  cause  of 
every  reform  is  always  to  be  found  in  the  history  of  pre- 
vious corruptions.  So  we  find  the  cause  of  me  Jewish 
reform  in  the  chapter  of  the  rabbinical  law.  In  this 
century,  the  dawning  of  the  coming  bright  day  of  true 
liberty,  so  soon  as  the  air  of  freedom  has  touched  the 
oppressed  people,  so  soon  as  some  of  their  leaders  had 
entered  the  temple  of  free  science  and  heard  logic  in 
universities,  their  discovery  of  the  Talmudical  error  was- 
only  a  natural  consequence.  They  saw  no  effect  of  the 
Jewish  religion  upon  the  heart  of  the  believer ;  they  even 
claimed  that  an  orthodox  Jew,  who  sticks  to  all  possible 
formalities  of  orthodoxy,  is  usually  not  so  good  a  man 
as  the  unbeliever.  They  found  that  a  religion  of  forms 
is  useless,  ridiculous.     They   saw  that  there  is  no  real 


134  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

religion  in  orthodoxy  ;  they  found  the  most  of  the  tal- 
mudical  logic  an  absurdity.  They  also  rightly  contested 
the  authority  of  the  old  Rabbis  to  prescribe  laws  and 
ordinances  for  them.  Not  looking*  at  the  fact  that  the 
authority  of  the  teachers  of  the  oral  law  depends  on  the 
place  God  had  chosen  as  the  capital  of  the  nation,  as 
we  have  seen  before ;  forgetting  that  authority  in  reli- 
gious matters  cannot  be  taken  by  men  of  themselves  but 
must  be  given  to  them  by  God,  as  was  the  old  Jewish 
authority,  a  divine  ordination,  they  claimed  the  authority 
of  the  time,  according  to  the  principle  of  the  oral  law. 
They  cast  the  ugly  burden  called  rabbinical  codex  from 
their  necks.  They  made  themselves  free  of  the  Talmud. 
As  we  agree  with  the  orthodoxy  concerning  the  true 
foundation  of  the  religion,  the  divine  origin  of  the  Bible 
and  its  doctrines,  so  does  the  reform  agree  with  us  in 
seeing  the  structure  of  darkness  and  error  which  the 
Rabbis  el^ected  upon  the  sacred  ground  of  truth.  But 
the  misfortune  is,  that  while  giving  up  the  Talmud  they 
did  not  abandon  its  spirit  of  self-dependence,  of  haughty 
human  authority  in  matters  of  God.  The  spirit  of 
meekness,  of  obedience  to  God,  did  not  occupy  the  heart 
which  freed  itself  from  the  pressure  of  the  Talmud.  Not 
finding  the  aim  of  the  Bible,  knowing  of  religion  only 
the  belief  of  the  mind,  they  simply  changed  it  to  a  disbe- 
lief of  it.  The  difference  is,  that  the  Talmud  did 
only  erroneously  pervert  the  Bible ;  the  Reform,  seeing 
no  effect,  does  wantonly  reject  it,  and  in  such  an  illogical 
manner  that  they  expose  themselves  to  the  most  absurd 
inconsistency,  as  I  have  shown  in  the  second   chapter. 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  135 

Giving  up  belief  in  everything  which  seems  to  be  against 
reason,  not  admitting  that  there  is  anything  above  it  and 
therefore  incomprehensible,  they  depend  on  themselves, 
and  their  reason  has  made  them  unreasonable.  Seeing 
the  uselessness  of  a  religion  of  forms  for  a  belief  of  the 
mind,  they  chose  unbelief;  instead  of  casting  their  hearts 
into  the  dust  before  the  living  God  of  Israel,  who  chose 
them  to  testify  to  his  wonderful  ways  by  their  own  ex- 
istence. 

If  the  belief  of  the  mind  has  no  effect,  they  concluded 
that  the  unbelief  will  have ;  but  the  true  conclusion  is : 
if  the  belief  of  the  mind  has  no  effect,  then  that  of  the 
heart  must  have  it.  At  the  same  time  they  saw  the  mar- 
velous history  of  their  people,  and  the  great  influence  of 
the  Bible,  so  that  they  could  not  openly  reject  it,  and 
they  claimed  that  the  Bible  is  a  book  according  to  rea- 
son, and  its  doctrines  regarding  Divinity  were  the  same 
as  those  of  the  philosophers.  Thus  the  Jewish  religion 
is  a  perfectly  reasonable  religion.  But  as  the  law  is  not 
according  to  reason  they  reject  it,  and  only  claim  to  keep 
such  parts  of  it  as  are  reasonable;  and  the  result  is,  they 
keep  nothing.  And,  as  much  of  the  Bible  is  not  to  be 
comprehended  by  reason,  they  do  not  believe  those  parts 
of  it.  They  thus  fell  into  the  inconsistencies  I  have  de- 
scribed. They  think  that,  with  giving  up  the  Talmud 
and  casting  the  Bible  after  their  own  pattern,  they  make 
Judaism  a  rational  religion.  But,  looking  at  the  signs  of 
the  times,  we  must  ask,  If  the  Reformers  were  right,  why 
did  Israel  suffer  under  the  curse  of  having  a  Talmud  1 
Why  did  the  only  religion  which  had  the   true  principle 


136  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

of  God  fall  into  such  a  degradation  ?  And  if  Israel  ha& 
the  true  religion  why  has  it  to  endure  such  matchless 
sufferings?  Israel  always  suffers.  Free  in  the  civilized 
parts  of  the  world,  they  suffer  in  Roumania,  Persia,  Mo- 
rocco, and  in  many  other  countries.  They  never  suf- 
fered all  over  the  earth  at  one  time,  but  the  nation 
always  suffers,  according  to  prediction.  Why  does  Prov- 
idence allow  this  ?  The  Reformers  say  that  the  Jews^ 
sufferings  are  to  be  attributed  to  the  wickedness  of  the 
persecutors,  and  thus  refuse  to  take  any  lesson  from  it. 
Truly,  no  honest  man  can  see  in  it  anything  else  than 
the  most  abominable,  atrocious  wickedness  and  heart- 
lessness.  But  the  question  is,  Why  did  the  all-ruling 
Providence  subject  them  to  such  cruel  wickedness  ?  The 
wickedness  of  the  persecutors  can  only  be  considered 
instrumental  to  the  wrath  of  the  God  of  justice.  But, 
besides  this,  the  main  question  is,  whether  the  God 
of  the  Bible  is  really  the  God  of  the  rationalists.^ 
whether  the  Monotheism  of  Moses  is  the  same  as 
reason  teaches,  so  that  the  Reformers  are  entitled 
to  say  they  believe  in  the  God  of  Israel  ?  We  will 
therefore  cite  a  few  Biblical  passages,  in  order  to  ex- 
amine whether  one  can  claim  that  he  believes  the  Bible 
and  still  say  he  only  believes  what  he  can  understand; 
whether  Judaism  is  possible  without  belief.     We  read  : 

Gen.  iii :  8,  "  And  they  heard  the  voice  of  the  Lord 
God  walking  in  the  garden  in  the  cool  of  the  day  : 
and  Adam  and  his  wife  hid  themselves  from  the 
presence  of  the  Lord  God  amongst  the  trees  of 
the  garden." 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  137 

Is  that  comprehensible  ?  Is  it,  or  not,  according  to 
the  other  teachings  of  the  Bible,  that  God  is  omnipres- 
ent ?     Who  can  hide  himself  from  God  ? 

Gen.  vi :  6,  "And  it  repented  the  Lord  that  he  had 
made  man  on  the  earth,  and  it  grieved  him  at  his 
hearty 

That  was  after  he  saw  that  everything  he  made  was 
very  good.  And  is  God's  grieving  at  his  heart  compre- 
hensible.^ We  are,  in  other  places  in  the  Bible,  assured 
that  God  is  not  man  to  repent.  The  plainest  contra- 
diction. 

Gen.  xi:  5,  "And  the  Lord  cajne  doiv?i  to  see  the  city 
and  the  tower,  which  the  children  of  men 
builded. 

Must  God  go  down  in  order  to  see  ? 

^Gen.  xxxii :  24  to  30,  "  And  Jacob  was  left  alone  ;  and 
therp  wrestled  a  man  with  him  until  the  breaking 
of  the  day.  And  when  he  saw  that  he  prevailed 
not  against  him,  he  touched  the  hollow  of  his 
thigh;  and  the  hollow  of  Jacob's  thigh  was  out  of 
joint,  as  he  wrestled  with  him.  And  he  said,  Let 
me  go,  for  theday  breaketh.  And  he  said,  I  will 
not  let  thee  go  except  thou  bless  me.  And  he 
said  unto  him.  What  is  thy  name.?  And  he  said, 
Jacob.  And  he  said.  Thy  name  shall  be  called 
no  more  Jacob,  but  Israel :  for  as  a  prince  hast 
thou  power  with  God  and  with  men,  and  hast  pre- 
vailed. And  Jacob  asked  him,  and  said,  Tell  me, 
I  pray  thee,  thy  name.  And  he  said.  Wherefore 
is  it  that  thou  dost  ask  after  my  name .?  And  he 
blessed  him  there.  And  Jacob  called  the  name 
of  the  place  Peniel :  for  I  have  seen  God  face  to 
face,  and  my  life  is  preserved. 


138  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

Let  US  look  at  this   passage   a  little  nearer.     A  man 

comes,   wrestles,    is    beaten,    hurts    Jacob,    changes    his 

name,  would  not  tell  his  own,  blesses  him,  and  finally  it 

turns  out  to  be  the  living  God.     You  cannot  say  it  was  a 

vision,  or  a  dream,  for  poor  Jacob   halted   after  it.     Can 

a  sensible  man  deny  that  the  Bible  has  incomprehensible 

mysteries?      According    to    reason    it    would    be    most 

absurd  ;   you  cannot  even  make  poetry  of  it. 

Read  further :     "  And  as  he  passed  over  Fennel  the  sun 

rose   upon  him,   and    he    halted    upon  his   thigh. 

Therefore    the   children  of  Israel   eat  not  of  the 

sinew  which  shrank,  which  is  upon   the  hollow  of 

the  thigh  unto  this  day,  because  he   touched  the 

hollow  of  Jacob's  thigh  in  the  sinew  that  shrank." 

(Gid  hanasheh). 

We  see  the  children   of  Israel  do  not  eat  that   part  of 

the  animal  until    to-day,  during  these   many   centuries. 

And    there   was   never  any  doubt    in    Israel    about    the 

authenticity  of  this  passage   as   an   historical    fact.      Is 

Judaism,  is   the  Bible  rational?     There  is  a, thing  which 

suffers  no  kind  of  interpretation,  but  must  be  taken  as  a 

mysterious   fact,  unless  we  refuse   to   believe   the  Bible, 

and  forfeit  the  right  to  claim  to  be  Jews  in  our  religion. 

In  that  case  the  Bible  would  be  the  most  foolish  book  in 

existence. 

Ex.  vi :  3,  "And  I  appeared  to  Abraham,  Isaac  and 
Jacob  by  the  name  of  Shadday ;  but  by  my  name 
Jehovah  was  I  not  known  to  them." 

Is  this  not  like  a  mysticism  ?  What  difference  does  it 
make  under  what  name  God  appears?  What  does  it 
mean,  God's  having  names,  and  appearing  by  different 
ones  ? 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  I39 

Before  the  Israelites  left  Egypt,  the  Lord  commanded 
every  house  to  kill  a  lamb  and  sprinkle  the  blood  upon 
the  door-posts  ;   and  says  : 

Ex.  xii :  13,  "And  the  blood  shall  be  to  you  for  a  sign, 
upon  the  houses  where  ye  are :  and  when  I  see 
the  blood,  I  will  pass  over  you." 

Did  not  God  know  where  the  Israelites  lived  without 
the  blood  }     We  further  read  : 

Ex.  xxiv :  9  to  11,  "Then  went  up  Moses  and  Aaron, 
Nadab,  and  Abihu,  and  seventy  of  the  elders  of 
Israel;  and  they  saw  the  God  of  Israel :  and  there 
was  under  his  feet  as  it  were  a  paved  work  of  a 
sapphire  stone,  (or,  like  the  work  of  white 
sapphire)  and  as  it  were  the  body  of  heaven 
in  his  clearness.  And  upon  the  nobles  of  the 
children  of  Israel  he  laid  not  his  hand  :  also  they 
•saw  God,  and  did  eat  and  drink." 

But  we  read,  further,  in  Ex.  xxxiii :  20,  "And  he 
said,  Thou  canst  not  see  my  face :  for  there  shall 
no  man  see  me,  and  live.  And  the  Lord  said, 
Behold,  there  is  a  place  by  me,  and  thou  shalt 
stand  upon  a  rock  :  and  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
while  my  glory  passeth  by,  that  I  will  put  thee  in 
a  cleft  of  the  rock,  and  will  cover  thee  with  my 
hand  while  I  pass  by:  and  I  will  take  away  mine 
hand,  and  thou  shalt  see  my  back  parts;  but  my 
face  shall  not  be  seen." 

Can  these  passages  be  defended  by  reason  }  No  man 
can  see  God  and  live ;  but  Moses  and  Aaron,  with  the 
elders,  saw  God,  and  did  eat  and  drink ;  and  saw  what 
was  under  his  feet.  And  again,  Moses  is  placed  in  a 
cleft  of  the  rock,  and  the  Lord  puts  his  hand  on  him 
until  he  passes  by,  and  then  lets  him  see  his  back.     In 


140  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

another  place  it  says  again  that  God  spake  to  Moses 
""face  to  face"  as  a  man  speaks  to  his  friend.  The  in- 
visible, glorious  God  of  Israel  is  seen  !  Are  there  no 
mysteries  ?  A  great  number  of  similar  passages  are 
found  in  the  Bible.  In  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  Judges 
we  read  that,  when  the  angel  of  God  comes  to  announce 
to  Manoah's  wife  the  birth  of  Samson,  he  appears  like  a 
man,  his  name  is  wonderful,  and  the  woman  says,  after- 
wards, she  saw  God. 

No  one  can  be  considered  a  Jew  without  belief  in  the 
revelations  of  Sinai,  where  God  went  down  on  the 
mountain  and  spoke,  "I  am  the  Lord  thy  God."  The 
tables  of  the  covenant  are  said  to  have  been  written  by 
the  finger  of  God.  In  short,  notwithstanding  that  the 
Bible  teaches  that  God  is  omnipresent,  invisibly,  spir- 
itual, still  he  appears  not  as  the  God  of  philosophy,  but 
Si  wonderful  God,  with  such  marvelous  revelations,  which 
must  be  taken  literally.  As  these  revelations  are  the 
foundation  of  the  Israelitish  belief,  as  the  Bible  cannot 
be  considered  true  without  these  revelations,  conse- 
quently the  God  of  Israel  is  not  the  God  of  philosophy. 
Is  God  to  be  called  the  God  of  Israel  if  the  Biblical 
revelations  were  not  true  ?  Why  is  he  the  God  of 
Israel  ?  If  the  Bible,  which  originated  with  the  Jewish 
people,  and  which  this  people  always  believed,  is  not 
true,  then  the  Jews  were  idolaters;  for  they  believed 
not  in  the  one  God,  as  even  some  Grecian  philosophers 
have  taught.  They  believed  that  God  dwelt  between 
Cherubim  which  their  own  hands  had  made.  They 
believed   that  he  spake  and  wrote.       If  what  the  Jews 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  I4I 

believed  is  not  true,  then  that  chosen  people  were  idola-  • 
ters,  and  the  Reformers,  who  do  not  believe  such  incom- 
prehensible things  to  be  true,  but  consider  the  above  cited 
Biblical  passages  to  be  either  lies  or  poetry,  then  these 
Reformers,  with  some  other  Deists,  are  the  only  mono- 
theists.  Consequently,  the  Reformers  have  no  shade  of 
a  reason  to  claim  that  they  believe  in  the  God  of  Israel. 
Or,  if  we  say  that  the  Reformers  are  right  in  their  inter- 
pretations of  Scripture,  then  the  Jews  were  vvrong.  Thus 
a  Reformer  ought  to  abandon  the  name  of  Jew,  to  be 
ashamed  of  the  glorious  name  "Israelite,"  for  it  means 
an  idolater.  For,  they  cannot  deny  the  fact  that  Israel 
always  believed  that  the  revelations  were  literally  true. 
And  so  they  do  believe  to-day,  with  the  exception  of 
those  in  Germany  and  America  who  call  themselves  Re- 
formers, and  think  that  they  spiritualize  the  Bible  by 
their  interpretations.  Say  the  Bible  is  true  in  the  sense 
of  the  Reform,  then  the  Israelites  were  idolaters  through 
their  misapprehension  of  it,  just  as  the  Jew  affirms  to-day 
that  the  Christians  were  idolaters  while  misunderstand- 
ing or  misinterpreting  the  Bible.  If  the  Bible  is  not 
history,  still  it  is  a  fact  that  Israel  considers  it  as  such. 
And  God  has  chosen  an  idolatrous  people ;  for  God,  as 
represented  in  the  Bible,  is  not  the  true  God,  according 
to  philosophy.  According  to  the  Reform  interpretations, 
that  is,  if  their  God  of  Moses  is  the  God  of  the  philoso- 
phers, (and  the  revelations  [and  miracles  are  only  either 
Mosaic  tricks,  or  [lies,  or  poetry,)  then  the  God  of  the 
Orthodox  Jew  is  not  the  one  of  the  Reformer.  The 
God  of  the  Reformer  is  not  the  God  of  Israel.  Israel's 
10 


142  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

God  is  the  mysterious  God  of  holiness,  the  wonderful 
God  of  miracles,  with  all  the  qualities  of  the  God  of 
philosophy. 

I  have  said,  before  this,  that  most  of  the  passages  relat- 
ing supernatural  occurrences  are  written  in  such  a  lan- 
guage that  they  cannot  be  interpreted  any  other  way 
than  in  the  plainest  literal  meaning  of  the  words.  Read 
the  passages  above  cited,  and  show  me  how  they  can 
bear  any  other  interpretation.  One  can  only  say,  and 
many  Reformers  do  say,  that  Moses  and  the  prophets 
only  taught  according  to  their  time ;  they  say  the  Jews 
were  not  ripe  yet  for  the  full  truth,  that  is  the  God  of 
rationalism  or  pantheism,  therefore  Moses  had  to  make 
them  believe  that  he  worked  miracles,  and  to  give  them 
such  a  law  and  such  low  doctrines  of  the  divinity,  as  if 
God  will  be  one  who  speaks  and  writes.  Well,  if  this 
is  admitted,  you  say  then,  we  live  in  an  enlightened 
century  and  have  purer  ideas ;  but  if  Judaism  was  not 
ripe,  not  pure,  then  you  must  give  up  Judaism  as  an  old- 
fashioned  religion,  like  the  Grecian  mythology;  and,  pray 
do  not  claim  that  you  reform  it.  When  the  Grecians 
gave  up  their  idols  and  accepted  Christianity  they  did 
not  claim  that  they  reformed  their  old  religion.  They 
said  that  their  fathers  were  blind,  and  they  must  accept 
another  religion.  The  Reformers  declare,  in  every  syna- 
gogue, that  their  fathers  were  also  blind,  and  still  they 
claim  to  keep  the  Jewish  religion.  The  Jews  always 
believed  the  Bible,  without  those  sublime  reformed  expla- 
nations. You  say  that  our  fathers  were  not  ripe  and  you 
are  ;  then  you  are  no  Jews. 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  143 

I  believe  that  the  Jews  must  have  had  some  mysteries 
orally  taught  to  some  select  ones  by  Moses  and  the 
prophets  about  such  Biblical  passages  as  I  have  cited 
above.  These  mysteries  are  called  "  Kabalah  "  (which 
word  signifies  tradition).  Like  the  traditions  of  the  oral 
law,  this  Kabalah  became  degenerated  with  the  deviation 
of  the  nation  from  the  spirit  of  the  Bible.  Just  as  a  few 
of  the  Talmudical  traditions  must  have  been  genuine,  so 
there  is  to  be  found  some  divine  truth-  in  that  gnostic 
science,  Kabalah.  There  are  many  truths  scattered  all 
over  the  rabbinical  and  kabalistic  literature,  remains  of 
the  better  times  of  the  nation,  but  it  is  hard  to  discern 
now  which  are  genuine.  Scientific  researches  prove  the 
very  great  age  of  the  Kabalah,  but  the  above  cited  pas- 
sages prove  that  this  science  must  be  as  old  as  the  Scrip- 
tures (the  very  words  of  these  pages  are  mystical)  if  it  is 
not  true  that  they  had  some  traditions  from  Abraham,  or,, 
as  they  claim,  even  from  Adam.  Alas!  Israel's  knowl- 
edge and  secrets  are  adulterated  and  not  to  be  trusted. 
Now,  this  Kabalah  is  accepted  by  all  the  orthodox 
Jews,  and  its  doctrines  of  the  divinity  must  be  consid- 
ered the  plainest  idolatry,  according  to  rationalism. 

Now  we  see  that  the  God  of  the  Reformers  is  not  the 
mysterious  God  of  Israel.  Refusing  to  believe  mysteries, 
and  still  bound  to  the  Bible  by  their  history  and  race- 
pride,  they  impute  to  it  their  own  rationalism,  and  dare 
to  assert  that  the  Bible  only  teaches  things  according  to 
reason.  All  the  value  of  the  Bible,  say  they,  lies  in  the 
doctrine  of  the  unity  of  God,  and  some  moral  compre- 
hensible teachings.     And  to  this  they  attribute  the  great 


144  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

influence  of  the  Bible.  The  fact  is  that  we  can  find 
more  moral  and  sublime  doctrines  according  to  reason 
in  the  teachings  of  the  old  heathen.  Did  not 
Confucius,  Zoroaster,  Socrates,  Plato  and  a  great  many 
other  heathen*  teach  a  sublime  moral  ?  Still  their  Books 
do  not  conquer  the  world.  Was  not  Solon  a  wise  law- 
giver, and  were  not  Demosthenes  and  Cicero  eloquent 
speakers  ?  But  the  world  reads  Moses  and  Isaiah. 
What  is  the  cause  of  this  phenomenon,  if  reason  is  the 
•only  mediator  between  man  and  God,  as  the  Reformers 
maintain  ?  Then  again,  the  world  did  not  accept  the 
Bible  with  the  rational  interpretations,  but  with  the  plain 
belief,  and  it  is  the  belief  which  has  exercised  such  a 
■wonderful  influence.  And  not  only  are  there  contra- 
dictions and  seeming  , absurdities  in  the  Bible,  but  even 
some  things  against  our  ideas  of  morality  and  humanity. 
For  instance,  the  manner  of  taking  vengeance  upon 
Midian  and  Amalek,  or  the  commandment  to  kill  every 
.soul  of  the  people  of  Canaan  ;  was  it  not  cruel  .^  Gentile 
infidels  say  that  the  God  of  Israel  was  a  cruel  God ;  they 
are  at  least  consistent ;  if  the  Reformers  refuse  to  believe^ 
then  they  ought  to  join  those  infidels,  in  order  not  to  be 
so  foolishly  inconsistent.  The  believer  does  not  claim 
that  it  was  not  cruel,  but  he  trusts  the  God  of  Israel,  who 
is  the  love  itself,  as  regards  the  justice  of  His  command. 
There  is  no  logical  possibility  of  accepting  the  Bible 
without  belief.  Without  belief  they  are  without  the  God 
•of  Israel. 

A  Reform  Rabbi,  hearing  of  my  conversion,  wrote  me 
a  letter  admonishing  me  not  to  forsake  the  God  of  Israel 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  I45 

and  fall  so  low  as  to  take  part  in  the  Christian  idolatry. 
I  replied  that  I  believe  in  Israel's  God  more  than  ever, 
but  also  in  His  Messiah.  To  this  he  responded  that 
Israel  has  given  up  such  a  belief  as  the  coming  of  a 
Messiah.  My  dear  Rabbi,  if  the  Biblical  promises  of  a 
Messiah,  which  I  shall  cite  below,  are  not  true,  then  where 
is  the  God  of  Israel  ?  If  you  do  not  believe  the  Bible 
regarding  the  Messiah,  why  must  I  believe  your  doctrine 
of  the  divinity  ?  If  the  Bible  is  not  true,  then  I  need  not 
to  be  better  than  Socrates.  Even  idolatry  is  no  sin  if 
the  Bible  is  not  true,  since  men  like  Socrates  worshiped 
idols.  Why  is  one  part  of  the  Bible  true  and  the  other  not  ? 
You  will  say,  our  time  has  progressed ;  but  I  can  not  see 
any  progress,  when  all  the  Christians  are  idolaters.  You 
will  say,  it  is  against  reason  to  be  a  Christian ;  but  you  are 
not  reasonable  in  claiming  to  be  an  adherent  to  the  Bible 
and  still  refusing  to  believe  its  promises  regarding  the 
Messiah.     I  believe  in  equal  rights. 

The  fact  is,  that  not  being  able  to  reconcile  their 
rationalism  with  the  Jewish  history,  the  Reformers  can 
not  avoid  being  inconsistent.  Thus  their  rational  plat- 
form has  caused  their  irrationality.  They  had  a  right 
cause  for  a  reform,  but  their  error  grew  from  leaving  the 
platform  of  religion,  which  is  belief.  Without  belief  the 
Jewish  religion  cannot  possibly  be  reformed,  but  de- 
stroyed. And  so  it  is  with  them.  Through  the  Talmud 
the  Jews  lost  the  aim  of  a  religion.  The  Talmud  made 
religion  a  mass  of  forms ;  those  being  found  useless, 
there  is  nothing  left.  If  the  Reformers  had  commenced 
with  a  zeal  for  God,   if  they  had  kept  the  Biblical  plat- 


14^^  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

form,  then  they  would  deserve  sympathy.  But,  brought 
up  in  the  Tahiiudical  school,  knowing  only  the  religion 
of  the  mind,  they  retained  the  Talmudical  spirit  of  de- 
pending on  the  mind,  on  themselves.  They  saw  the  old 
error  of  the  rabbinical  belief,  and  they  thought  to 
remove  it  by  giving  up  all  belief.  But  the  Rabbis' 
error  was  not  caused  by  belief,  but  by  the  peculiar 
Talmudical  haughtiness  and  self-assumption  through 
which  they  missed  the  aim  of  the  belief.  Thus  the 
reform  has  not  removed  the  real  cause  of  the  evil. 
The  cause  of  it  they  retained.  It  is  the  same  spirit  with 
both  parties.  It  is,  after  all,  no  difference  whether  the 
Word  of  God  is  perverted  or  rejected,  as  long  as  the  true 
aim  of  religion  is  not  realized  in  its  use.  Before  a  man 
can  see  the  aim  of  religion  he  must  first  be  humbled  in 
his  heart,  so  as  to  feel  his  own  depravity,  the  joylessness 
and  hopelessness  of  his  life ;  he  must  see  that  there  is 
no  satisfaction  in  perishable  things,  because  of  the  im- 
mortal thing  in  man.  He  must  feel  that  he  belongs,  not 
to  the  "All  "  as  long  as  he  goes  after  the  "self."  He 
must  feel  how  far  he  is  from  true  monotheism,  which  is 
the  spirit  of  love  poured  over  the  "all,"  and  making  all 
one ;  from  the  real  source  of  love,  which  is  God.  The 
religious  expression  for  this  is,  "  Man  must  be  under  the 
conviction  of  sin,  before  he  can  find  reconciliation." 
The  Reformers  never  reached  the  aim  of  religion ;  for 
their  starting-point  was  not  humility,  but  national  pride 
and  dependence  on  knowledge.  One  does  not  look 
after  comfort  before  he  feels  his  sorrow.  What  is 
the   effect   of  their   reform  ?     A  low   materialism,  under 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  I47 

the  name  of  a  new  Judaism.  They  have  nothing  but  the 
carnal  human  mind  for  their  guidance.  They  claim  to 
be  progressive,  while  they  have  made  a  long  retrogres- 
sion, and  are  now  thirty-five  centuries  backwards  in  the 
time  of  Egyptian  darkness,  when  the  world  had  nothing 
of  the  Bible.  There  were  philosophers  and  rationalists 
also  in  Egypt,  but  the  greatest  fortune  the  world  ever 
received,  and  the  greatest  progress  it  ever  made,  was  in 
the  reception  of  the  Bible.  Still  the  Reformers  consider 
themselves  progressive.  They  have  no  religion,  no 
spiritual  comfort,  no  hope,  indeed  no  God.  Nothing 
but  miserable  materialism  ;  the  cold,  hollow,  insatiable 
flesh,  the  carnal  "self."  The  reform  Synagogue  actually 
ridicules  all  religion. 

The  reform  is  rather  adapted  to  deaden  every  religious 
propensity  of  the  human  heart,  if  this  were  possible. 
But  as  the  need  of  religion  is  natural  with  the  heart, 
and  the  reform  really  teaches  against  it,  so  we  may  con- 
clude that  it  provides  a  way  from  Judaism  to  the  truth. 
For,  as  the  propensity  for  religion  is  natural  with  every 
man,  the  Jews  could  only  be  kept  from  seeking  the  true  re- 
ligion by  the  rabbinical  pseudo-religion  ;  they  had  some- 
thing to  cling  to  if  it  even  is  a  shade.  But  now  the  reform  is 
fulfilling  a  mission  in  showing  to  the  Jewish  nation,  first, 
that  their  religion  is  false;  while,  as  they  offer  nothing 
else  for  it,  they  can  only  blind  the  people  with  their 
inconsistency,  though  not  for  a  long  time.  The  people 
will  soon  be  aware  of  the  ridiculousness  of  such  reform. 
They  will  find  that  there  is  something  else  necessary  be- 
sides rationalism,  that  there  is  something  worth  believing, 


148  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

and  that  the  God  of  Israel  did  not  leave  mankind  without 
help  and  comfort.  Those  who  believe  not  the  Bible 
now,  because  they  see  no  aim  in  it,  will  easily  believe  as 
soon  as  they  find  the  aim,  the  object  which  it  contem- 
plates. The  spiritual  nature  of  man  will  drive  him  to 
find  a  religion.  Religion  is  a  natural  necessity,  for  men 
are  most  miserable  without  it.  Thus  the  reform,  in  de- 
stroying the  false  religion  will  cause  men  to  search  for 
the  true  one. 

The  Lord's  ways  are  marvelous.  He  uses  his  enemies 
as  instruments  for  his  work.  Israel's  history  is  a  chain 
of  miracles,  and  this  absurd  reform  will  prove  to  be  the 
greatest  miracle  in  leading  God's  people  to  be  reconciled 
to  Him.  "  Canst  thou  by  searching  find  out  God  ?  canst 
thou  find  out  the  Almighty  unto  perfection  ?  It  is  as 
high  as  heaven,  what  canst  thou  do  ?  deeper  than  hell, 
what  canst  thou  know.?"     Job  xi :   7,  8. 

How  wonderful,  how  ineffably  wonderful  are  the  ways 
of  Providence !  The  people  whose  history  is  the  Bible's 
unanswerable  evidence,  who  own  the  Book  of  God,  have 
left  it ;  those  who  saw  the  great  light  walk  in  darkness. 
Those  who  saw  Sinai  in  its  shining  glory  grope  after  the 
guidance  of  the  Talmud;  those  who  were  sheltered  by 
the  wings  of  God  and  led  by  His  pillars  of  cloud  and 
flame,  are  without  refuge,  and  run  after  a  shade  called 
Reform.  The  very  people  whose  life,  whose  very  exist- 
ence is  God's  witness,  who  sealed  the  truth  of  His  word 
by  their  blood,  shut  their  ears  against  His  voice.  The 
voice  of  Israel's  blood  cries  from  the  ground;  it  is  as  if 
the  numberless  graves  of  his  numberless  martyrs  would 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  I49 

open  and  the  shadows  of  the  dead  would  rise  and 
ascend,  their  hands  pointing  to  the  Bible.  The  blood  of 
the  heroic  Maccabeans  cries,  their  shadows  hover  over 
the  destitute  Jerusalem,  whose  ruins  spea'k,  and  they 
testify  to  the  truth  of  the  Bible.  From  the  blood  of  the 
murdered  sucklings  under  Nebuchadnezzar  and  Titus; 
through  all  the  ages  of  darkness  and  of  Spanish  pyres, 
until  the  last  drop  of  Jewish  blood  which  saturated  Rou- 
manian ground,  every  drop  boils  and  cries,  "Bible!" 
"Bible!" 

The  voice  of  Israel's  blood  touches  the  ears  of  the 
Gentiles,  and  convinces  their  hearts,  but  Israel's  ears  are 
stopped;  his  heart  is  hardened  ;  the  words  of  the  prophet 
are  fulfilled ;  "  lest  they  see  with  their  eyes,  and  hear 
with  their  ears,  and  understand  with  their  heart,  and 
convert,  and  be  healed."  Is.  vi :  lo.  Israel's  unbelief  is 
one  of  the  miracles  of  his  miraculous  history.  Who  has 
the  heart  to  pray  like  Daniel }  Who  can  make  confes- 
sion for  Israel's  sins  like  the  beloved  Daniel,  so  that  the 
voice  shall  ascend  and  reach  the  throne  of  the  God  of 
love  }  Who  can  lament  like  Jeremiah  }  Who  can  pray, 
lament.^  Pray,  lament,  take  no  rest;  pray,  be  not  silent 
for  the  walls  of  Zion  ;  pray,  weep,  let  a  flood  of  tears 
come  over  the  earth  to  destroy  every  word  written  by 
man  ;  the  Bible  shall  never  be  destroyed.  It  will  move 
over  the  burning  waters  of  tears  like  the  ark  in  the 
deluge.  Pray  and  weep  for  the  ashes  of  Zion,  melt  the 
snow  of  Lebanon's  venerable  summit  with  your  tears, 
until  David's  silent  harp  shall  again  give  its  tunes;  until 
his  crown   shall  again    shine  in  Jerusalem  ;  until  Israel's 


15°  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

eyes  shall  be  opened  to  see  his  true  glory.  Israel's  mis- 
fortune is  that  it  never  sees  the  aim,  the  glory  of  its 
religion.  The  men  of  the  Talmud  the  Pharisees  be- 
lieved, but  remained  satisfied  with  a  belief  of  the  mind. 
The  Pharisees  were  right  in  their  belief;  they  had  the 
authority,  also,  as  I  have  shown  above.  "  Salvation  comes 
from  the  Jews."  They  had  the  right  belief  of  the  mind, 
but  they  did  not  find  the  aim  of  it,  for  there  was  too 
much  "self."  Thus  those  of  their  time  who  had  more 
of  a  secular  education,  seeing  no  aim  in  the  Phariseean 
religion,  became  like  the  Saducees,  who  were  nothing  but 
materialists.  In  this  century  we  see  the  same  thing  in 
another  form.  The  real  principle  of  the  Saducees  and 
the  Reformers  is  materialism,  "I."  Reformed  Rabbis  ! 
Show  me  the  effect  of  your  so-called  religion.  What 
do  you  accomplish  ?  Look  at  your  flocks ;  does  religion, 
God,  anything  which  is  ideal,  govern  them  ?  Show  me, 
all  ye  Reformers,  all  of  you,  show  me  one  single  soul 
you  have  turned  from  low  materialism  to  even  infidel 
idealism  ?  Show  me  one  man  of  you  who  lives  in  the 
real  fear  of  the  God  of  our  fathers ;  one  man,  I  would 
like  to  see,  who  is  entitled  to  say  that  he  is  religious. 
What  consolation  have  you  for  life;  what  hope  for 
death  ? 

Indeed,  we  only  need  to  read  the  Bible  to  see  rabbin- 
ism  and  reform  refuted.  The  Bible  refutes  them  of 
itself.  Now,  after  forcing  evidences  for  the  truth  of  the 
Bible,  as  well  as  the  falsehood  of  Judaism  in  any  shape, 
we  must  conclude  that  there  must  be  another  religion, 
according   to  the  Bible.     For,  if  the   Bible   is  truly  the 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  I51 

word  of  God,  there  must  be  a  true  religion  to  be  gained 
from  it,  as  God  could  not  have  spoken  in  vain.  As  soon 
as  we  know  that  the  Bible  is  God's  word,  then  every 
soul  which  seeks  true  comfort,  which  yearns  for  God, 
must  look  to  it  for  help.  Thus  the  fact  that  Judaism  is 
false,  proves  that  the  other  religion,  which  is  founded 
upon  the  Bible,  must  be  true,  for  God's  word  must  have 
established  a  true  religion.  As  Christianity  is  the 
other  religion  which  claims  to  have  a  Biblical  founda- 
tion, it  remains  our  duty  to  examine  whether  it  proves  to 
be  what  it  claims,  and  whether  it  does  offer  the  living 
water  after  which  our  souls  languish,  the  balm  for  the 
wounded  heart;  reconciliation  Avith  God.  But  before 
we  treat  this  question,  we  shall  first  examine  the  Chris- 
tian doctrine  of  the  Trinity ;  for,  as  followers  of  the 
Bible,  our  first  principle  must  be  monotheism,  the  belief 
in  One  God. 


152  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION 


CHAPTER  XI. 

TRINITY. 
"  Hear,  O  Israel,  Jehovah  our  God,  Jehovah  ONE."    Deut.  vi :  4. 

Far  above  our  comprehension,  too  high  for  the  concep- 
tion of  our  reason,  it  has  pleased  our  All-wise  Father  to 
choose  three  different  ways  by  which  He  reveals  Himself 
to  man,  and  speaks  "I  am."  Through  three  different 
revelations  we  know  that  He  is,  even  while  we  can  not 
comprehend  what  He  is. 

Looking  at  the  infinite  power  which  is  manifested  in 
nature,  from  the  grain  of  sand  and  drop  of  water,  to  the 
vast  oceans  and  gigantic  mountains  ;  from  the  micro- 
scopic worm  to  the  unicorn  and  whale,  what  a  wisdom  is 
visible  in  the  life  of  the  endless  varieties  of  all  that 
breathes  on  earth,  or  inhabits  the  waters.  Every  crea- 
ture speaks  with  the  psalmist,  "  O  Lord,  hOw  manifold 
are  thy  works  !  In  wisdom  hast  thou  made  them  all." 
Ps.  cix  :  24. 

The  silver-sprinkled  blue  firmament,  the  gold-faced 
moon,  the  light-diffusing  sun,  all  these  silently  whirling, 
shining  heavenly  bodies,  driven  by  the  law  of  gravitation, 
what  a  wisdom  is  manifested  in  their  harmonious  dance, 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  153 

what  a  spirit  of  harmony  and  love  is  poured  over  these 
heavens  !  "  Lift  up  your  eyes  on  high,  and  behold  who 
hath  created  these."  Is.  xi :  26.  They  alj  testify  to 
their  First  Cause  ;  they  sing  the  praise  of  their  Creator. 
"  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  firma- 
ment showeth  his  handy  work."  Ps.  xix  :  i.  Hear  the 
howling  storm,  the  roaring  billows  of  the  sea,  the  rustling 
of  the  cascade,  the  voice  of  the  thunder;  they  are  the 
echo  of  His  voice.  The  murmuring  of  the  forest  trees, 
with  the  charm  of  the  song  of  their  birds,  the  whispering 
of  the  quiet  waters  of  the  ponds  and  rivers,  the  sweet 
rays  of  the  lovely  moon  pouring  over  a  resting  nature, 
the  silver-eyed,  sweet  evening  star,  the  rosy  beams  of 
evening-fall,  like  kisses  of  the  departing  sun  to  land  and 
sea ;  they  all  tell  of  the  love  and  loveliness  of  our  God  ; 
they  all  solicit  our  devotion  to  the  love-expending  Cre- 
ator. The  infinite  power  and  wisdom  which  we  find  in 
nature  proves  the  existence  of  its  Creator.  Nature  sheds 
a  spirit  of  devotion  over  souls  susceptible  of  the  love  of 
God.  The  harmony  of  nature  opens  your  heart.  Your 
breast  expands,  you  stretch  your  arms,  you  bow  your 
head  before  the  infinite  greatness  of  the  Almighty  God. 
This  is  the  first  of  God's  revelations,  God  in  nature. 

When,  again,  yoi!  cast  the  eye  of  the  spirit  backwards, 
over  the  past  centuries  of  history,  you  follow  the  steps  of 
mankind,  you  see  nations  spring  up,  grow,  rise  high  to 
command  the  world,  and  then  decay,  perish,  to  make 
room  for  others.  You  see  men  lifted  up  to  greatness 
and  honor,  they  rule  nations  with  their  word,  govern 
people  by  their  will,  and  then  fall  into  the  dust  and  dis- 


154  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

appear.  You  often  see  these  great  men  and  nations 
steering  towards  their  destruction  when  they  imagine 
themselves  climbing  towards  the  summit  of  their  fame ; 
they  prepare  their  fall  while  working  for  their  greatness  ; 
they  lay  the  foundation  of  their  ruin  while  triumphing  in 
success  and  victory  ;  and  you  find  them  to  be  nothing 
but  instruments  in  the  hands  of  a  higher  wisdom.  You 
finally  find  that  the  different  rises  and  falls  of  all  these 
men  and  nations,  these  seemingly  unplanned  changes  of 
building  and  destruction,  are  combined  to  lead  mankind 
under  one  plan  forward  to  a  point  of  destination.  You 
perceive  that  mankind,  as  a  race,  is  led  like  a  child  from 
the  cradle  through  the  different  phases  of  age,  and  you 
conclude  that  there  is  an  All-wise  Father  to  lead  them. 
You  see  an  unutterable  wisdom,  an  all- loving  providence 
ruling  the  fate  of  men  and  nations,  leading  them  after  its 
own  one  plan.  You  find  one  wisdom,  one  spirit,  one 
plan  pervading  all  history.  The  loving  Father  has 
watched  over  mankind's  cradle,  has  taught  its  lessons, 
managed  its  affairs  and  supplied  its  wants.  An  incompre- 
hensible wisdom  has  made  use  of  all  the  events  of  human 
history,  kept  them  under  control  to  apply  them  to  the 
very  highest  good  of  humanity.  Here  again  you  have  a 
revelation  of  God.  You  see  God  ifi  history.  But  this 
second  revelation  is  of  an  entirely  different  character 
from  the  first.  The  God  of  history  appears  not  like  the 
God  of  nature.  The  manner  of  revelation  is  different ; 
it  does  not  seem  to  be  the  same  person.  In  the  God  of 
nature  you  saw  the  Almighty  Creator,  the  giver  of  all ; 
here  you  see  the  all-wise   Father,  the  manager  and  ruler 


OR,    JUDAISM     AND    CHRISTIANITY.  155 

of  everything.  The  devotion  you  perceive  in  your  heart 
is  also  of  a  different  character ;  you  feel  a  kind  of  a 
yearning  to  the  God  of  nature,  and  a  reverence  before 
the  God  of  history.  Here  you  feel  awe,  you  drop  your 
arms,  you  lift  up  your  head  toward  heaven  and  exclaim, 
"  Thou  art  the  Lord  who  callest  the  generations  from 
the  beginning."  Thus  the  two  revelations  of  the  One 
God  make  Him  appear  as  two  different  persons,  and 
cause  two  different  kinds  of  devotion,  while  you  know 
that  the  God  of  nature  is  also  the  God  of  history. 

When,  finally,  we  consider  the  manner  of  revelation 
in  the  Bible,  here  God  appears  as  an  entirely  different 
person.  The  God  of  nature  changes  nature's  laws;  the 
God  of  history  chooses,  redeems  and  preserves  one 
people  against  history's  laws.  We  see  the  God  of  Israel, 
the  God  of  Sinai,  the  God  of  miracles,  the  Lord  of 
hosts,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  and  His  Redeemer.  The 
God  of  the  Bible  is  the  only  one  you  can  fear  and  love. 
What  a  difference  in  the  manifestation !  Thus,  my 
reader,  w.e  see  that  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  appear  in 
three  different  characters,  like  three  different  persons. 
The  God  of  nature,  of  history,  and  of  the  Bible  is  but 
one  God. 

These  three  different  ways  of  revelation  we  may  use 
as  an  illustration  for  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  I  have 
only  shown  the  three  different  ways  of  God's  revelation 
in  order  to  illustrate  how  the  Christians  believe  in  one 
God  in  a  Trinity.  Do  you,  reader,  believe  in  three  Gods 
because  you  see  his  three  different  revelations.?  Why 
shall  the  Christian  be  accused  of  believing  in  more  than 


156  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

one  God,  while  the  unity  of  God  is  the  principal  doc- 
trine of  Christianity  ?  The  Christian  believes  that  there 
is  but  one  God ;  but  that  the  manner  of  God's  existence 
is  as  a  Trinity.  The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  does  not 
touch  the  question  of  quantity,  but  of  quality.  The 
Christian  says  not,  there  are  three  Gods,  or  three  is  one, 
but  only  one  God,  whose  manner  of  existence,  or  mode 
of  revelation,  is  triune.  Thus  Trinity  touches  only  the 
question  of  the  substance  of  the  Godhead,  a  thing  which 
no  man  can  understand,  whether  he  believes  in  a  Trinity 
or  not.  The  philosopher  who  proves  that  there  is  a  God, 
admits  that  nothing  can  be  comprehended  of  his  sub- 
stance, his  essence  ;  the  believer  believes  the  same  thing, 
that  there  is  a  God  whose  manner  of  being,  substance  or 
essence  cannot  be  known  ;  but  he  believes  it  is  as  a  Trinity, 
a  something  he  cannot  comprehend.  Thus  the  Christian 
stands  on  the  same  platform  with  the  philosopher,  but  he 
believes  something  about  God's  manner  of  existence. 
Surely  it  is  incomprehensible;  but  the  manner  of  God's 
existence  is  also  incomprehensible  to  the  philosophers. 
Is  it  not  perfect  obstinacy  to  maintain  that  the  Christian 
believes  in  three  Gods  when  every  Christian  says  he  be- 
lieves but  in  one  1  A  man  must  know  what  he  believes. 
Should  a  man  who  does  not  believe  in  one  God  desire  to 
join  a  Christian  church  the  minister  and  the  congrega- 
tion would  surely  refuse  him,  and  most  emphatically 
teach  him  that  the  first  doctrine  of  Christianity  is  the 
belief  in  the  Unity  of  God  according  to  the  Jewish 
Bible,  which  is  the  teacher  whom  the  Christians  follow. 
The  Jewish  Rabbi  can  teach  nothing  else  touching  the 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  157 

unity  of  God  but  what   is  in   the  Bible.     And  still  it  is 
charged  upon  the  Christian  that  he  believes  in  more  than 
one  God,  on  account  of  his  belief  in  a  Trinity,  while  the 
Christian  does  not  claim  himself  to  understand  what  the 
Trinity  means.     The  writer  of  this,  since  he  commenced 
to  think,  was  taught  to  believe  in  only  one  omnipresent 
God.  Not  as  what  we  consider  one  in  number,  but  a  unity 
which  shares  nothing  with  it,  and   has  no  comparison  ;   a 
unity  as  far  as  unity  can  be  a  perfection,  according  as  it 
is  defined  in  the  books  of  all  the  Jewish  philosophers. 
To-day,  I  believe  in  Christianity,   and  am  at  the  same 
time  willing  to  die   for  my  belief  in   this   same   only  one 
God  more  than  ever  before.     I  was  taught,  and  used  to 
consider,  that  Christianity  does  not  teach   the  belief  in 
that  one  God  ;  but  I  was  only  converted  to  Christianity 
because  I  felt  that  it  draws  me  to  that  same  ofie  God.     I 
would  have  died   sooner  than  embrace  Christianity  if  it 
had  taught  me  to  give  up  my  belief  in  the  one  God  of 
Israel ;  but,  as  I  said,  I  felt  drawn  to  Him  more  than  in 
Judaism.     I  only  embraced  Christianity  for  the  sake  of 
the  one  God  of  Israel.     The  Jewish  philosopher  Bechaye, 
in  his  "  Chobath   Hallebaboth,"  did  not   teach  anything 
else   concerning  the    unity  of  God  than  the    Christian 
philosophers   do.     Thus,   concerning  the  unity  of  God, 
Jew  and  Christian  have  the  same  belief. 

But,  besides  this,  it  is  a  fact,  that  the  mystery  of 
the  Trinity  in  God's  existence  is  a  Jewish  as  well  as  a 
Christian  doctrine,  and  every  Jew  believes  in  the  plural- 
ity of  the  persons,  as  he  believes  in  the  Shechinah.  Do 
the  Jews  not  believe  in  the  spirit  of  God,  "  Holy  Ghost,'* 
1 1 


1.5^  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

or  "  Shechinah  ?"  The  second  verse  of  the  Bible  says, 
■*'And  the  spirit  of  God  hovered  over  the  waters."  That 
Spirit  of  God  is  one  person  of  the  Christian  Trinity. 
Where  God  says,  He  will  rest,  the  Chaldaic  translation 
says,  He  will  make  his  Shechinah  rest.  The  spirit  of 
God  was  called  Shechinah,  and  is  commonly  believed 
among  the  Jews,  and  they  pray  that  God  should  return 
the  Shechinah  to  Zion.  This  Shechinah  is  not  considered 
created,  but  something  proceeding  from  God,  and  at  the 
same  time  God  but  another  person.  The  Christian  be- 
lieves in  God,  his  Shechinah  and  his  Word,  on  the  very 
same  principle.  Now,  if  the  Christian  believes  in  three 
Gods,  then  the  Jew  believes  in  two.  Has  anybody  ever 
charged  it  upon  the  Jews  that  they  believed  in  two  Gods.? 
On  what  ground,  then,  can  the  Jew  accuse  the  Christian 
of  believing  in  three  ?  The  principle  of  the  belief  is  the 
same.  If  the  Christian  believes  one  is  three  and  three 
is  one,  then  the  Jew  believes  one  is  two  and  two  is  one. 
The  Jew  can  give  no  definition  of  his  belief  in  the  She- 
chinah any  more  than  the  Christian  can  do  it  about  the 
Trinity.  The  Talmud  and  all  the  Rabbinical  literature 
consider  the  Shechinah  identical  with  God,  and  at  the 
same  time  they  treat  them  as  two  persons.  It  is  obvious 
that  the  belief  in  a  unity  of  God  with  a  plurality  in  persons 
is  Jewish  as  well  as  Christian,  the  difference  is  only  in 
the  number.  The  doctrine  is  really  a  mystery  and  in- 
comprehensible. Differently  from  his  creatures  and 
above  their  comprehension,  God  can  be  in  three  persons 
and  still  not  united^  but  One.  Concerning  the  incompre- 
hensibility of  the  doctrine,  it  is  no  more  incomprehen- 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  159 

sible  or  contradictory  than  the  Biblical  passages  I  have 
cited  in  the  last  chapter.  The  real  fact  is,  that  this 
question  has  nothing  to  do  with  monotheism. 

I  have  hitherto  spoken  of  a  Jewish  belief  in  a  Shechinah, 
for  this  is  the  belief  of  every  Jew  ;  a  fact  which  cannot 
be  disputed.  But  we  can  find  that  even  the  belief  in 
the  Word  Vv^as  common  with  the  Jews,  and  they  really 
did  believe  in  a  Trinity.  (I  am  not  speaking  yet  of  the 
fact  that  we  find  the  Trinity  in  the  Bible.)  We  find  in 
the  rabbinical  literature  often  mentioned,  God  and  his 
family,  or  family  of  above.  The  Midrash  says  that  when 
God  judges  men  he  takes  counsel  with  the  angels ;  when 
he  judges  angels  he  counsels  with  the  family  of  above. 
That  expression,  family  of  above,  is  very  common  in  the 
rabbinical  literature.  (Familie  shel  maalah.)  Jonathan's 
Chaldaic  translation  always  treats  the  "  Word  of  God  " 
as  a  person  (Memrah);  and,  I  believe,  also  Onkelos, 
sometimes. 

The  Kabalah  teaches  the  Trinity  as  plain  as  the  Chris- 
tians. In  Sohar  to  Gen.  i :  26,  it  almost  teaches  Chris- 
tianity. The  Sohar  teaches  of  God  the  Father,  a  mother 
of  above  and  a  mother  of  below.  ("Aba  Elaah,  Ima  Elaah 
and  Ima  Delithatha,"  or  "  Shechinah  Delela  and  She- 
chinah Delithatha.")  This  idea  of  a  feminine  gender, 
in  the  Divinity,  is  not  so  absurd  as  it  appears  to  be  at  the 
first  look.  They  define  the  expression,  "mother  of 
above,"  as  Philo  defines  his  Logos.  The  Kabalists  un- 
derstand, in  Mother,  the  power  of  conception  in  which 
everything  exists,  also  they  call  it  sometimes  the  archi- 
tect of  the  building  in  creation.     The  word  Shechinah 


l6o  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

is  a  feminine  noun  in  the  Hebrew  language.  There  are 
numerous  passages  in  the  Sohar  to  the  same  effect,  but 
not  having  any  books  I  must  cite  all  from  memory.  I 
do  not  mean  to  defend  the  antiquity  of  the  Sohar  itself; 
but  its  principles,  that  is,  the  Kabalistic  principles,  are 
surely  very  old.  We  find  Kabalistic  expressions  all 
through  the  Talmud,  and  the  Thargumim  indicate  that 
this  knowledge  cannot  have  been  a  novelty  at  their 
times.  Besides  what  I  have  said  in  the  last  chapter, 
that  a  believing  Hebrew  scholar  is  compelled  to  see  that 
some  passages  of  Scripture  indicate  that  there  must 
have  been  some  gnostic  traditions  with  them.  Frank 
and  Jellinek  have  brought  forward  a  good  deal  to  prove 
the  antiquity  of  the  Kabalah.  It  is  at  least  certain  that 
the  orthodox  Jews  believe  it,  no  matter  how  old  it  is. 

The  "  Sefer  Yezirah,"  a  little  Kabalistic  book  whose 
antiquity  is  established  beyond  any  doubt,  commences : 
^''  By  three  the  world  was  created^  There  is  a  little  Kab- 
alistic prayer  in  every  orthodox  prayer-book,  to  be  said 
before  service,  and  adopted  and  said  by  every  orthodox 
Jew.  It  reads  as  follows  :  "  To  the  name  of  the  Unity, 
of  the  Holy,  praised  be  He,  His  Shechinah,  through  the 
hidden  and  unknown."  {Leshem  Yichud^  etc.)  Here 
we  see  plainly  that  the  Jews  pray  to  a  Trinity  even  at 
this  day.  The  Christian  may  say  the  same  prayer  in 
other  words,  namely :  "  To  one  God,  the  Father,  His 
Shechinah  (or  Holy  Ghost),  through  Jesus  Christ."  The 
difference  is  only  that  what  is  hidden  and  unknown  to  the 
Jew  is,  thank  God,  known  to  the  Christian  under  the  name 
of  Jesus  Christ.     It  is  true   this  prayer  is   not  very  old ; 


"  OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  i6t 

it  was  prescribed  by  one  of  the  ancestors  of  the  writer 
of  these  pages,  Rabbi  Isaia  Horowitz  (Shelah),  Rabbi, 
at  Frankfort-on-the-Main.  (All  Israel  goes  after  his 
authority.)  This  Rabbi  did  not  make  that  prayer  of  his 
own  mind,  but  according  to  his  Kabalistic  knowledge,  in 
which  he  is  a  great  authority,  and  is  accepted  in  Israel. 

We  also  find  another  Kabalistic  prayer  to  be  said  at 
New  Year  after  blowing  the  horn,  to  the  effect  that  the 
Lord  should  accept  the  sound  of  the  horn  through 
Joshua,  the  prince  of  the  countenance,  and  Melatron, 
the  prince. 

It  is  very  remarkable  how  near  the  Kabbalists  were  to 
Christianity.  And  no  real  orthodox  Jew  will  ever  dare 
to  doubt  the  Kabalah ;  it  is  accepted  by  all  authorities. 
There  is  not  the  least  doubt  that  Judaism  teaches  a 
Trinity,  for  they  had  some  true  traditions  from  the 
prophets.  But  still  the  Jews  claim  that  the  Christians 
are  not  monotheists,  on  account  of  their  belief  in  the 
Trinity.  The  Jews  and  the  so-called  Rationalists  mo- 
nopolize monotheism. 

Philo,  known  among  the  Jews  as  Philon  Hayehudi,  or 
Jedidjah  the  Alexandrian,  who  lived  a  little  before 
Christ,  believed  in  the  Logos,  the  Son  of  God,  who  is 
the  mediator  between  men  and  God ;  and  teaches  that 
men  must  cast  themselves  upon  him  entirely,  for  with 
his  own  morality  only,  man  will  be  a  sinner.  In  short, 
this  Philo  teaches  all  Christianity,  with  the  exception  of 
the  incarnation,  as  he  lived  before  Christ ;  but  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Word  and  Mediator  is  as  fully  developed 
there  as  in   Christianity.      Still,  Philo  was  a  good,  be- 


l62  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

lieving  Jew,  and  without  doubt  a  holy  man,  too.  Some- 
rationalists  accuse  the  evangelists  of  plagiarism,  saying 
that  they  used  Philo's  doctrines.  As  if  Philo  could  have 
had  a  religion  of  his  own.  What  Philo  knew  many 
holy  and  learned  men  in  Israel  must  have  known.  The 
doctrines  of  Christianity  are  not  new,  but  the  real,  pure 
Judaism.  All  that  the  apostles  had  to  teach  of  new 
things,  was  concerning  the  person  of  the  Messiah  ;  that 
in  Him  hopes  and  expectations  were  fulfilled.  The 
apostles  may  even  have  read  Philo,  or  accidentally  ex- 
pressed the  same  thing,  as  they  had  the  same  Judaism 
with  its  doctrines.  The  same  way  any  religious  writer 
could  be  accused  of  plagiarism  for  writing  ideas  and 
doctrines  in  his  book  which  have  been  expressed  before. 
I  think  it  v/ould  be  hardly  possible  now  to  write  much 
that  should  be  actually  new. 

Although  v/e  have  seen  that  the  Jev/s  believe  in  a 
duality  and  even  in  the  Trinity,  the  principal  question  is 
not  settled  yet.  For  we  must  follow  the  Bible,  not  the 
Jews.  The  spirit  of  God  is  spoken  of  in  the  second 
verse  of  Genesis,  as  I  cited  above,  but  we  also  find  the 
word  of  God  treated  as  a  person.     We  read  in 

I  Kings,  xix  :  9,  10,  "And  behold  the  word  of  God ca.me 
to  him,  and  said,  What  doest  thou  here,  Elijah  ? 
And  he  said,  I  have  been  very  jealous  /or  the  Lord 
God  of  hosts ^  for  the  children  of  Israel  have  forsaken 
thy  covenant." 

It  is  obvious  that  Elijah  speaks  here  to  the 
*'  Word "  as  a  person,  as  he  speaks  of  the  Lord  God 
at    first    in    the  third    person   and    then  in    the  second. 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  163 

There  we  see  plainly  that  the  Bible  treats  the  "Word' 
as  a  person,  and  I  suppose  there  are  more  such  passages 
to  be  found  in  Scripture. 

It  is  further  known  that  the  word  "  God  "  (Elohim)  is 
expressed  in  the  plural  in  the  Hebrew  language.  It  is 
supposed  by  many  Jews  that  it  is  an  expression  of  Ma- 
jesty; some  of  the  commentators  supposed  that  the 
reason  was  because  the  Hebrew  language  is  older  than 
the  monotheistic  belief  and  the  expression  was  used  by 
the  polytheists,  and  remained  in  use  even  after  the  He- 
brews believed  in  one  God.  According  to  my  humble 
opinion  it  cannot  be  on  account  of  majesty,  because,  why 
are  the  other  names  of  God  not  expressed  in  the  plural? 
Nor  is  it  characteristic  in  the  Hebrew  to  express  majesty 
by  using  the  plural  pronoun ;  and  if  it  is  only  a  heathen 
expression,  then  surely  Moses  must  have  avoided  it. 
The  old  Rabbis  searched  for  other  reasons,  and  did  not 
accept  the  above;  especially  the  Kabalists,  and  they 
do  teach  the  plurality  of  persons,  as  I  said  before. 

We  also  find  verbs,  adjectives  and  pronouns  often  (not 
always)  expressed  in  the  plural  when  they  allude  to  God. 
But  what  is  strange,  sometimes  there  is  plural  and 
singular  in  the  same  sentence  mixed. 

Gen.  i :   26,    "And   God   said.  Let  us  make   man   in  our 
image,  after  our  likeness."     • 

Some  say  this  was  an  expression  of  majesty.  But  the 
old  Rabbis  in  Midrash  did  not  feel  satisfied  with  that ;  it 
is  not  natural  in  the  Hebrew  language,  and  they  say  that 
it  alluded  to  the  Family  of  above.  (The  Sohar  teaches 
the  Trinity  on  that  very  verse.) 


164  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

Gen.  XX :   13,  "God  have  caused  me  to  wander,"  says 
Abraham. 

Gen.  XXXV :  7,  ''  The  Elohim  (God)  were  revealed  to  him 
there." 

Joshua  xxiv :  19,  "  To  serve  Jehovah  for  he  a?'e  holy  Elo- 
him (Kedoshim). 

II  Samuel  vii  :   23,  "  Whom  God  have  gone   to  redeem 
unto  himself. 

Ps.  Iviii :   12,  "But  there  is  YAo\{\m  judges. 

Ps,  cxlix  :   2,  "  Israel  shall  rejoice  in  his  Maker's. 

There  are  many  other  passages  to  be  found  with  the 
same  peculiarity.  I  only  allude  to  these,  since  they  fur- 
nish ample  indications.  But  an  explicit  teaching  of  the 
doctrine  of  Trinity  is  found  in 

Gen.  xviii :  "(i)  And  Jehovah  appeared  unto  Abra- 
ham in  the  plains  of  Mam  re,  and  he  sat  at  the  tent 
door  at  the  heat  of  the  day.  (2)  And  he  lifted  up 
his  eyes  and  looked,  and,  lo,  three  men  stood  by 
him,  etc.  ...  (3)  and  said,  my  Lord,  if  now  I  have 
found  favor  in  thy  sight,  pass  not  away,  etc.  .  .  . 
(4)  Let  a  little  water,  I  prayj'^//,  be  fetched  and  wash 
your  feet,  and  rest  yourselves,  etc.  .  .  .  (9)  And 
they  said  unto  him  where  is  Sarah  thy  wife .''  And 
he  said.  Behold,  in  the  tent.  (10)  And  //^  said,  I 
will  certainly  return  unto  thee,  etc.  .  .  .  (13)  And 
Jehovah  said  unto  Abraham,"  etc. 

I  leave  it  to  any  impartial  reader,  whether  of  the 
Hebrew  or  of  the  translation,  whether  the  meaning  of 
this  passage  is  not  according  to  the  Christian  interpreta- 
tion, that  Jehovah  appeared  in  three  persons  in  human 
form.  The  first  verse  is  obviously  a  general  description 
of  the  revelation,  and  then  comes  the  specification  of  it. 
In  the  conversation  the  three  are  sometimes  addressed  in 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  l6$ 

the  singular.  In  verse  thirteen  one  assumes  the  name  of 
Jehovah.  Later  we  find  two  of  them  as  angels  in 
Sodom,  and  Jehovah  still  speaks  to  Abraham.  This 
teaches  plainly  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  Jewish  com- 
mentators, not  able  to  dispute  that  the  first  verse  is  say- 
ing in  general  what  the  following  verses  describe  (name- 
ly, that  the  three  men  were  the  revelation  of  Jehovah), 
still  say  that  the  three  men,  of  whom  two  are  afterwards 
called  angels,  were  only  angels,  so  that  this  was  no  reve- 
lation of  God ;  for  often,  say  they,  angels  are  called 
Jehovah,  since  they  represented  Him.  Rashbam  cites 
from  Ex.  iii,  where  the  Bible  relates  that  an  angel  of 
God  appeared  to  Moses  in  the  bush,  and  Jehovah  saw 
that  he  turns  to  see,  and  Elohiin  (God)  calls  to  him.  By 
this  citation  he  tries  to  prove  that  angels  were  called 
Jehovah.  We  certainly  find  other  passages  where  God 
appeared  as  an  angel,  for  instance,  to  Hagar.  Gen. 
vii :  i^.  But  the  very  citation  of  Rashbam  proves  the 
opposite  of  his  affirmation ;  for,  in  Ex.  iii,  the  Lord  says 
afterwards  to  Moses,  "/am  the  God  of  thy  father,"  and 
when  Moses  heard  that  it  was  God  speaking  to  him, 
he  hid  his  face ;  and  later,  that  angel-God  is  called  Jeho- 
vah, and  tells  his  name,  "  I  am  "  (or,  "  I  shall  be  ").  If 
this  was  not  a  revelation  of  God  himself,  then  we  must 
say  that  on  Sinai  only  an  angel  spoke  when  he  said,  "  I 
am  Jehovah,  thy  God  ;"  the  same  pronoun  is  used,  "  I  " 
(Anochi).  Any  man  reading  the  passages  in  Exodus, 
without  being  blinded  by  a  spirit  of  obliquity,  will  see 
that  it  was  a  revelation  of  God  himself,  who  at  first 
appeared  as   an    angel.     It  would   be   blasphemy,  even 


l66  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

idolatry,  to  call  an  angel,  who  is  a  creature  himself,  by 
the  most  holy  name  "Jehovah,"  while  it  is  perfectly 
according  to  Scripture  that  the  Lord  appears  as  a  crea- 
ture. So  he  'appeared  to  Jacob  as  a  man,  and  so  the 
two  persons  were  angels  in  Sodom.  The  Lord  appeared 
as  a  creature,  but  a  creature  can  not  assume  the  name  of 
the  living  God  of  Israel.  If  in  Gen.  xviii  and  Ex.  iii 
angels  were  only  revealed,  then  we  must  conclude,  on  the 
same  principle,  that  Jacob  wrestled  with  a  man  only.  It 
is,  though,  very  intelligible  why  God  is  called  angel  at 
the  beginning  of  the  revelation,  for  as  man  can  not  see 
God  as  he  is,  the  very  vision  is  something  created.  God 
in  the  revelation  is  in  a  something  created  to  be  used  as 
a  mediator,  for  God  is  invisible.  Thus  the  very  citation 
of  Rashbam  proves  that  the  three  men  of  Abraham  were 
the  One  living  God,  for  we  find  God  appearing  as  an 
angel,  not  the  contrary.  Aben  Ezra  hints  that  some 
derive  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  from  the  revelation  to 
Abraham ;  but,  says  he,  how  can  these  three  be  the  One 
indivisible,  when  we  find  two  of  them  as  angels  in  Sodom  ? 
I  am  sorry  that  Aben  Ezra,  the  favorite  commentator  of 
my  youth,  had  only  such  a  childish  answer.  As  if  any- 
body would  say  that  these  three  men  were  really  three 
persons,  sticking  together  without  being  able  to  separate 
themselves,  or  that  these  three  persons  were  really  God 
as  He  is.  We  do  not  understand  God's  being,  and  know 
nothing  of  his  Trinity ;  even  after  he  appeared  as  three 
men,  we  do  not  understand  how  he  appeared  as  one,  or 
as  three  men,  or  angels.  We  only  see  that  in  the  revela- 
tion to  Abraham  the  Lord  teaches  us  that  He  exists  in  a 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  167 

Trinity,  and  we  believe  it.  If  God  can  appear  like  three 
men,  two  of  them  can  also  go  to  Sodom,  while  no  man 
can  understand  anything  of  the  v>'hole  revelation. 

We  have  seen  now  that  the  belief  in  a  Trinity  does  not 
interfere  with  the  belief  in  the  one  only  God ;  that  the 
Jews  have  the  same  belief,  (at  least  in  principle,  for  it 
cannot  be  disputed  that  they  believe  in  the  Shechinah,) 
and  that  we  find  this  doctrine  in  the  Old  Testament. 
Neither  can  it  be  disputed  that  the  New  Testament 
teaches  one  God,  and  nothing  can  be  considered  Chris- 
tianity that  is  not  taught  in  the  New  Testament.  Stilly 
every  Jew  will  cite  Deut.  vi  :  4,  "  Hear,  O  Israel,  Jeho- 
vah our  God,  Jehovah  One,"  as  an  evidence  against  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  They  forget  that  they  believe 
in  a  Shechinah  themselves,  and,  as  I  have  shown,  even  in 
a  Trinity  ;  so  we  need  no  further  refutation.  But  it 
occurs  to  me  that  this  very  verse  may  hint  at  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity.     Let  us  examine  it  a  little  nearer. 

The  Israelites  have  heard  a  voice  from  the  living  God 
on  Sinai,  saying,  "/  am  Jehovah,  thy  God."  This 
implies  that  there  is  but  one  God,  for  "  I  "  means  one. 
Moses,  always  in  speaking  of  God,  leaves  no  possibility 
of  thinking  that  there  was  any  more  than  <9^/^.  In  the 
song  the  children  of  Israel  sang  after  crossing  the  Red 
Sea,  they  surely  spoke  of  one  God.  Thus  the  verse, 
"  Hear,  O  Israel,"  etc.,  appears  to  be  superfluous.  All 
the  Bible  breathes  the  doctrine  of  the  unity  of  God.  At 
the  same  time  we  find  that  when  Jehovah  (which  is  the 
proper  name)  assumes  the  title  "  God  "  (Elohim)  it  is 
expressed  in  the  plural,  (and  also  the  pronouns  and  verbs 


l68  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

are  often  singular  and  plural  together,  as  I  have  shown 
before).  Now,  the  language  of  the  verse  ;  Moses  did  not 
say  that  there  is  only  one  God,  or  one  Jehovah, — not 
even  that  Jehovah  is  one  (Jehovah  echod  ku),  but 
''Jehovah  oner  He  also  repeats  the  holy  name  in 
saying  Jehovah,  our  God,  Jehovah  one.  Why  this  repeti- 
tion .?  The  plain  language  would  be,  "Jehovah,  our 
God,  is  one."  Can  any  one  show  me  such  a  singular 
construction  in  the  Hebrew  language  as  this  verse  is } 

But  we  find  that  the  Israelites  had  three  different 
manners  of  revelation  :  one  on  Sinai,  where  they  heard 
the  voice  of  God ;  at  other  times  they  saw  the  glory  of 
God  in  a  cloud.  The  elders  had  some  other  vision,  as 
we  cited  in  the  last  chapter.  So  they  have  three  differ- 
ent kinds  of  revelation.  There  can,  besides,  be  no  doubt 
that  the  children  of  Israel  knew  of  the  revelation  to 
Abraham,  in  person  of  the  three  men ;  they  must  also 
have  been  instructed  in  the  mystery  of  the  existence  of  a 
Shechinah  and  a  Word,  at  least  those  who  were  initiated 
in  the  holy  mysteries.  Nov/,  after  they  had  these  three 
revelations,  and  some  knew  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trin- 
ity, Moses  told  them  to  be  careful  not  to  take  the  Holy 
Trinity  for  three  Gods.  And  he  says,  "  Hear,  O  Israel," 
which  is  equivalent  to  hear  with  understanding,  Jehovah 
(i)  (Elohenu),  our  God,  (2)  Jehovah  (3)— (9//^.  Any 
believing  man,  Avho  understands  the  Hebrew  language, 
and  pays  attention  to  the  words  of  those  passages  which 
treat  of  the  most  holy  mysteries,  will  find  that  this,  my 
suggestion,  makes  the  verse  more  comprehensible.  We 
can  understand  this  verse  better  with  the  doctrine  of  the 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  169 

Trinity  than  without  it.  And  there  are,  surely,  many 
hints  of  that  kind  in  Moses.  God's  being  mentioned  by 
different  names  must  mean  something;  there  are  often 
hints  to  holy  mysteries  given  in  one  letter.  I  can  not 
speak  much  of  this  here,  for  only  Hebraists  can  under- 
stand it. 

Now,  people  say  the  Christians  are  no  monotheists,  for 
they  have  not  the  monotheism  of  reason.  But  how  does 
it  happen  that,  notwithstanding  they  had  so  many  great 
philosophers,  the  Grecians  and  Romans  still  worshiped 
idols ;  and  since  they  accepted  the  belief  in  the  Trinity 
they  pray  to  the  living  God  of  Israel  ?  The  world 
accepted  the  spiritual  God  through  the  revelations,  con- 
sequently it  must  believe  in  the  unity  according  to  reve- 
lation. Rationalism  never  brought  one  heathen  to  the 
one  God.  Those  very  rationalists  who  boast  to-day  of 
being  the  only  true  monotheists,  and  call  the  Christians 
polytheists,  would  kneel  before  an  image  now,  if  their 
fathers  had  not  accepted  the  belief  in  the  revelation. 
They  would  perhaps  be  barbarous  yet,  as  their  fathers 
were,  before  they  accepted  the  belief  in  a  Trinity. 

Summing  up  what  we  have  said  in  this  chapter,  we 
must  say  that  it  cannot  be  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy 
Trinity  which  causes  the  Israelites  to  reject  Christian- 
ity, so  long  as  they  themselves  believe  in  the  Shechinah, 
even  if  the  doctrine  of  the  Word  had  not  originated 
with  Israel,  as  it  really  did.  If  their  belief  was  against 
Judaism,  then  the  Kabalists  and  the  Targumim  ought  to 
be  banished  from  the  synagogue;  while,  in  fact,  they  are 
accepted  in  all  Israel.     Besides,  what  we  have  seen   that 


lyo  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

the  Trinity  is  taught  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  Ortho- 
doxy is  believing  in  the  Shechinah  to-day. 

The  stumbling  block  which  leaves  Israel  without  a 
religion,  without  hope,  without  the  true  life  of  the  world, 
without  God ;  that  stone  of  stumbling  of  which  the 
prophet  wrote,  "  Sanctify  the  Lord  of  hosts  himself,  and 
let  him  be  your  fear,  and  let  him  be  your  dread.  And 
he  shall  be  for  a  sanctuary,  and  a  stone  of  stumbling,  and 
for  a  rock  of  offence  to  both  houses  of  Israel,"  etc. 
Is.  viii :  13,  14;  this  stumbling  stone,  which  is  at  the 
same  time  a  sanctuary,  is  nothing  but  God's  revelation 
in  Christ.  In  Him  God  is  a  sanctuary  for  some  and  a 
stone  of  stumbling  for  others.  Without  Him'  the  above 
cited  verse  of  Isaiah  can  not  even  be  understood.  We 
shall  devote  our  following  chapters  to  Christ  and  his 
religion.  But  before  we  examine  Christianity  dogmatic- 
ally, to  see  whether  it  is  the  religion  of  the  Bible,  we  will 
first  contemplate  Christ  as  he  is  perceived  and  compre- 
hended by  his  followers. 


OR,    JUDAISM     AND    CHRISTIANITY.  17I 


CHAPTER  XII. 
CHRIST. 

"Ye  are  mj-  wiiiesses,  saith  the  Lord,  and  MY  SERVANT  WHOM  I 
HAVE  CHOSEN  that  ye  may  know  and  believe  me,  and  understand  thai  I 
am  he:  before  me  there  was  no  God  formed,  neither  shall  there  be  after  me. 
I,  e^'en  I  am  the  Lord,"  and  BESIDE  ME  THERE  IS  NO  SAVIOUR." 
Isa.xliii:  10.11. 

"And  he  said.  It  is  a  light  thing  that  thou  shouldst  be  my  servant  to  raise  up 
the  tribe  of  Jacob,  and  to  restore  the  preserved  of  Israel :  I  will  also  give  thee 
for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles,  that  THOU  MAYEST  BE  MY  SALVATION  unto 
the  end  of  the  earth."    Ch.  xlix:  6. 

When  the  owner  of  the  world,  the  Father  of  Mankind, 
introduced  Himself  to  his  chosen  people  through  his 
servant  Moses,  he  proved  his  authority  by  working  pub- 
lic miracles.  He  struck  the  wicked  Egyptians  with  their 
idols,  the  waters  of  a  sea  withdrew,  leaving  a  dry  path 
for  the  chosen,  and  returned  to  cover  and  to  destroy  the 
children  of  iniquity.  Clouds  visited  the  wilderness,  a 
region  never  known  to  them  before,  in  order  to  make 
shade  and  shelter ;  heavens  rained  food,  wind  brought 
birds  in  its  wings,  and  a  rock  gave  water  for  the 
redeemed.  The  earth  shivered  when  glorified  by  the 
majesty  of  her  Lord;  the  air  quivered  when  magnified 
by  His  sublime  voice.     The  heavens  were  surprised,  sun 


172  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

and  moon  embarrassed,  hosts  of  holy  angels  rejoiced, 
forests  sang,  rivers  and  seas  shouted,  mountains  danced 
and  melted  like  wax,  when  Sinai  was  enveloped  with 
heavenly  flames,  covered  with  divine  glory.  Marvels  are 
the  testimonials  for  God's  word.  Numberless  miracles, 
supported  by  the  marvelous  existence  of  the  nation  for 
whom  they  were  performed,  prove  who  sent  Moses. 

But  silent  and  unnoticed,  quiet  and  humble,  appears 
Christ  among  his  brethren.  He  strikes  no  enemy,  he  raises 
no  staff.  Peace  is  his  way  and  his  kingdom.  Asked  for  a 
sign  from  heaven,  he  refuses  it,  and  points  to  God's 
word,  to  Moses.  Nature's  change  to  testify  to  the  Mes- 
siah fails  to  convince  one  who  does  not  listen  to  the  voice 
of  the  Lord  of  nature  and  yearns  to  do  His  will.  And 
the  Lord  of  nature  had  already  testified  of  His  Christ. 
God's  word  has  not  now  to  be  introduced,  but  fulfilled. 
Christ  must  expect  his  followers  to  believe,  for  the  law 
and  the  prophets  were  his  forerunners ;  the  law  had  taught 
to  believe  ;  it  showed,  it  pointed  to  the  way  of  God ;  the 
law  was  the  school-master  in  teaching  subjection  and 
belief.  The  religion  of  Christ  is  not  founded  upon  his 
own  miracles ;  thus  His  belief  is  not  of  the  mind.  When 
Korah  revolts  against  Moses,  the  latter  appeals  to  the 
miracle  which  shall  happen ;  when  Christ  is  opposed  he 
says,  "Ye  shall  have  no  sign."  Love  is  his  sign,  right- 
eousness his  wonder,  and  his  spirit  is  a  miracle.  His 
truth  speaks  louder  than  the  thunder  of  Sinai,  and  his 
life  shines  brighter  than  the  lightnings.  Those  who  were 
not  convinced  by  such  miracles   turned  from  Christ  after 


OR,  J-UDAISM    AND   CHRISTIANITY.  I/J 

they  were  even  fed  by  the  miraculous  bread  coming  from 
his  hands. 

Moses  had  to  convince  reason  of  the  truth  of  things 
which  appear  to  be  against  reason,  by  miracles.  Christ  wins 
the  heart  by  his  love,  by  his  purity,  and  makes  the  incom- 
prehensible thing  perceptible  to  heart  and  soul  by  his 
life.  He  never  worked  a  miracle  in  order  to  convince, 
to  win  a  new  disciple  ;  his  miracles  were  acts  of  benevo- 
lence, which  at  the  same  time  testified  to  him,  giving 
strength  of  faith  to  his  followers.  A  man  can  never 
be  converted  to  Christ  on  account  of  the  miracles ; 
for  if  one  is  not  touched  by  Christ's  life,  if  he  does 
not  enter  into  his  spirit  of  loving  to  do  the  will  of  his 
father  in  heaven,  if  he  does  not  see  that  there  is  no  satis- 
faction in  the  things  of  earth,  but  there  is  with  Him, 
if  he  does  not  believe  Him^  he  will  not  believe  His  mira- 
cles. Those  again  who  know  Christ,  easily  believe  his 
miracles.  The  miracles  testified  to  Moses,  and  Christ 
testifies  to  his  miracles,  even  if  it  is  at  the  same  time  in 
another  sense  true  that  Christ's  miracles  attest  to  him, 
since  it  must  be  expected  that  the  Christ  should  work 
miracles,  still  they  are  not  the  foundation  of  the  belief. 
The  miracles  do  not  make  the  Christ,  but  the  Christ 
makes  the  miracles.  The  Old  Testament  and  His  life 
form  the  ropk  upon  which  Christ's  Church  is  founded. 

Notwithstanding  that  Christ's  religion  has  the  strong- 
est evidences  to  convince  the  mind  of  its  truth,  in  no  way 
inferior  to  those  of  the  Old  Testament,  as  we  shall  find  be- 
low, still  the  conviction  of  the  mind  does  not  make  a 
Christian.     Because  Christianity  is  not  a  religion  of  the 

12 


174  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

mind,  therefore  are  the  historical  evidences,  the  miracles, 
not  sufficient.  The  definition  and  proof  of  this  will  be 
found  in  the  following: 

Israel  was  trodden  down  by  the  Roman  empire,  and 
still  more  by  its  own  rulers,  priests  -and  teachers.  Do- 
mestic discord  consumed  the  marrow  of  the  nation.  The 
treacherous  Idumean  family  of  the  Herods  occupied  a 
throne  which  was,  in  fact,  a  footstool  of  Rome.  The 
humble  man  of  the  lower  classes  sighed  under  many 
burdens  imposed  upon  him  by  his  Pharisaic  teachers,  be- 
sides those  of  the  foreign  oppressor.  Revolutions  and 
seditions  were  common  occurrences.  Hypocrisy  de- 
voured widows'  houses.  The  land  of  Judah  represented 
a  picture  of  sorrow  and  suffering.  Still,  Israel  looked 
for  a  Messiah.  A  Goel,  Redeemer,  was  promised  to  Israel, 
and  they  doubted  not  the  truthfulness  of  their  Bible. 
The  word  of  God  was  believed,  the  miracles  lived  in  the 
memory  of  the  nation.  (According  to  the  Rabbinical 
literature  they  even  had  not  yet  ceased  to  happen.) 
They  believed,  they  could  not  doubt ;  but  as  we  have 
seen  before,  it  was  a  belief  of  the  mind.  The  beliel 
turned  not  the  heart  in  humility  to  God,  but  it  filled  it 
with  pride  and  haughtiness.  The  Pharisee  did  not  pray 
for  mercy  on  account  of  a  burdened  conscience,  but  he 
gave  thanks  for  his  righteousness.  There  was  nothing 
but  an  outward  religion,  which  consisted  in  form,  in 
doing,  not  in  feeling.  It  was  in  fact  no  religion,  but  a 
law.  I  have  given  a  picture  of  Rabbinism  and  need  not 
dwell  upon  it  now.  We  have  seen  how  Judaism  had 
degenerated    through  a  spirit    of  haughtiness    and  self- 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  175 

dependence.  This  spirit  shaped  their  expectations  of 
the  Messiah.  They  did  not  feel  enslaved  by  sin  and  self, 
therefore  they  looked  for  no  inward  freedom ;  despising 
the  Gentiles  for  being  without  the  law,  they  waited  not 
for  the  redemption  of  mankind.  Since  they  only  rea- 
lized an  outward,  political  oppression,  they  could  not 
look  for  the  redemption  of  the  oppressor.  They  could 
not  realize  their  departure  from  God,  since  they  had  so 
many  laws,  and  this  was  all  they  considered  to  be  relig- 
ion.    Thus  they  sighed  and  yearned  for wealth 

and  power  to  oppress  their  oppressors.  They  hoped 
that  the  redeemer  would  lead  Judah's  armies  to  victory 
and  prey.  The  belief  of  the  mind  has  no  other  ambi- 
tion but  for  fame  and  wealth  ;  its  wishes  and  hopes  are 
carnal,  its  so-called  religion  is  form,  its  love  the  fleshy 
worldly  power. 

The  Pharisees  fully  believed  in  a  future  judgment,  but 
also,  that  keeping  the  law  is  the  sole  means  of  justifica- 
tion ;  thus  the  Messiah  is  required  to  be  the  greatest 
lawyer,  a  sophist.  They  also  found  consolation  in  the 
belief  that  every  born  Israelite  must  reach  heaven,  and 
if  he  were  a  sinner  against  the  law  he  only  had  to  suffer 
purgatory,  which,  according  to  some  tradition,  lasts  not 
longer  than  twelve  months.  (This  is  believed  even  at 
this  day  by  every  orthodox  Jew.)  Thus  the  cause  of 
their  haughtiness  was  not  only  in  their  legal  knowledge 
and  self-righteousness,  but  also  in  an  excessive  national 
pride.  They  believed,  even  that  the  Mehsiah  would  heal 
mankind  of  its  depravity,  which  is  caused  by  the  fall  of 
Adam  and  Eve.     This  doctrine  is  held  by  the  Jewish  or- 


176  MIND    AND    HEART     IN    RELIGION; 

thodoxy,  and  so  they  interpret  Gen.  iii :  15.  ^''  He  shall 
bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel,"  as  allud> 
ing  to  Messiah's  breaking  Satan's  influence.  There  are 
also  passages  which  show  that  they  expected  the  Mes- 
siah to  be  exalted  above  the  angels,  thus  the  nearest  to 
God.  I  only  allude  here  to  Thargum  Is.  Hi.  But 
mainly  and  firstly  he  must  give  worldly  glory  to  the 
Israelites. 

This  was  the  condition  of  Israel  when  the  humble 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  in  Galilee  suddenly  appeared.  He 
did  not  call  to  arms,  nor  did  he  have  any  treasures  to 
distribute.  Poor  and  lowly,  he  despised  all  honors,  and 
sought  only  to  turn  the  hearts  of  his  hearers  towards  his 
Father  in  Heaven.  His  actions  were  prompted  by  love, 
his  exclusive  business  was  to  do  good,  his  meat  to  do  his 
Father's  will.  His  doctrine  and  manners  were  new  and 
strange.  He  communicated  with  the  lowest  classes,  with 
sinners,  with  such  as  knew  themselves  that  they  were 
sinners.  He  went  to  the  most  despised,  who  hardly  dared 
to  hope  for  mercy.  He  went  to  the  "lost  sheep."  But 
he  did  not  teach  law,  he  broke  the  ordinances  himself, 
and  did  not  even  respect  the  authority  of  the  Rabbis. 
The  character  of  his  preaching  was  just  the  opposite  to 
what  was  customary.  There  was  no  subtilty  in  his  ser- 
mons. When  learning  and  wealth  were  the  highest  thing 
in  estimation  he  said,  "  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit, 
the  mourners,  the  meek."  The  humble  hearers  breathed, 
their  eyes  were  filled,  and  a  voice  in  their  own  heart 
shouted,  "Amen."  He  said,  "  Blessed  are  the  pure  in 
heart,  for  they  shall  see  God."     What  is  the  greatness  of 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  I77 

the  Rabbi,  the  philosopher,  the  rich  man  now  ?  He  prom- 
ised no  glory  but  that  of  heaven,  he  turned  hearts  into 
another  direction,  he  had  no  legal  measure  for  doing 
good.  He  only  taught  submission  to  God,  patience,  hu- 
mility, love,  unselfish  love.  He  enjoined  love  like  that 
of  God,  or  universal  love  from  which  no  one  is  excluded. 
**  Love  your  enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you,  pray  for 
your  persecutors."  A  heart  in  which  the  love  of  God  is 
the  center  has  no  room  for  enmity,  one  who  has  no  self 
has  no  enemy.  He  reduces  all  religion  to  that  which 
comes  from  an  humble,  single  heart.  He  tells  of  the  poor 
woman  who  only  casts  a  very  little  into  the  treasury,  of 
the  good  Samaritan,  of  the  praying  sinner  who  dared  not 
as  much  as  to  lift  up  his  eyes  to  heaven,  and  of  the  poor 
Lazarus.  He  says,  nothing  makes  impure  but  what  comes 
from  the  heart.  He  never  puts  any  value  on  much 
learning,  but  says,  to  whom  much  is  given,  of  him  much 
will  be  required.  He  requires  the  gifted  man  to  fnims- 
ter  with  his  gifts.  All  are  equal  with  him.  He  never 
refuses  a  broken-hearted  sinner,  and  censures  not  the 
sinner,  but  the  hardness  of  his  heart.  He  has  forbearance, 
forgiveness  and  consolation  for  every  one.  He  leaves 
the  narrow  platform  of  nationality  and  says,  that  from 
the  far  East  and  West  they  will  sit  down  with  Abraham, 
while  the  children  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  cast  out. 
Teaching  in  the  name  of  the  God  of  Israel,  sent  to  the 
lost  sheep  in  Israel,  he  still  advances  humanity,  not  Ju- 
daism. His  words  find  an  echo  in  every  heart.  In 
listening  to  his  words  every  heart  melts,  the  world  van- 
ishes, in  the  midst  of  a  roaring  world  we  stand  alone  be- 


1.78  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

fore  God,  and  not  terrified,  but  yearning  for  and  loving 
Him.  Heaven  opens  for  our  hope  and  consolation,  eternity 
for  our  life,  and  we  see  the  Father  of  mankind  as  the  one 
who  wipes  away  our  tears.  Is  there  any  wounded  heart  for 
whom  the  words  of  Jesus  are  not  a  balm  }  Any  man 
who  could  listen  to  them  without  emotion  }  The  slum- 
bering soul  awakens  at  his  voice,  the  restless  finds  rest 
and  peace,  the  despairing  consolation.  Take  all  the  in- 
estimable treasures  of  man's  literature,  destroy  all  human 
wisdom  which  all  generations  have  gathered,  still  man- 
kind will  be  happy  listening  to  His  voice. 

And  yet,  he  teaches  but  very  little  with  his  words. 
He  teaches  with  his  life.  Some  of  his  sayings  are  even 
found  in  the  rabbinical  literature,  (surely  this  literature 
was  written  long  after  Christ,)  some  are  found  with  the 
old  heathen  ;  but  the  value  and  power  of  his  doctrine 
lie  not  in  the  single  sayings ;  together,  as  a  system,  they 
turn  the  heart  of  the  hearer  and  lift  it  towards  heaven.* 


*  Christ's  words  need  not  necessarily  be  original.  His  different  doctrines  must  not 
be  all  new.  He  did  not  come  to  give  a  new  law,  but  to  make  free  of  the  old  one  by 
improving  the  heart  and  giving  strength  to  the  soul  to  do  the  will  of  God  by  virtue  of 
love,  not  of  law.  The  moral  law  existed,  man  knew  what  was  wrong,  else  he  would 
have  had  no  conscience,  but  he  is  weak  ;  there  is  a  depravity  that  prevents  his  liv- 
ing according  to  his  conscience,  and  therefore  he  is  not  at  one  with  God.  In  the 
chapter  about  Judaism  we  have  already  treated  this  subject  and  shown  that  this 
causes  our  want  of  religion.  The  moral  law  exists  always,  on  account  of  our  de- 
prarity.  If  men  were  good  there  would  be  no  law.  If  it  was  against  human  nature 
to  lie  or  to  steal,  there  could  be  no  law  not  to  lie  and  not  to  steal.  Thus  the  law  is 
on  account  of  transgression.  The  law  is  the  guide  of  consicence,  conscience  tells  that 
we  are  behind  the  law.  The  law  is  the  standard,  and  the  will  is  the  motive  ;  whe« 
man's  will  is  weak  he  still  knows  the  standard,  but  cannot  come  up  to  it.  Now  the 
Bible  promised  a  Messiah,  who  shall  "  h-uise  the  serpenf  s  head"  and  "  bta7-  tur 
iniquities"  A  ceremonial  law  was  added  to  point  to  the  need  of  a  more  entire 
submission  to   God,  and  on  account  of  increased  transgression  to  be  a  dam  against 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  1 79 

The  value  of  his  words  lies  in  their  combination  into  a 
perfect  system,  and  because  He  teaches.  He,  the  perfec- 
tion, according  to  all  true  doctrines  of  all  nationalities. 
He,  with  his  ineffable  loveliness  teaches,  or  rather  enables 
to  be  good.  Indeed,  we  even  have  but  very  few  of 
his  sayings,  just  enough  to  interpret  his  life,  to  show  his 
aim,  but  when  his  mouth  is  silent  his  life  speaks,  it  speaks 
louder  than  the  thunder,  and  still  sweeter  than  musical 
tunes  even  from  heavenly  spheres.  The  Bible  teaches 
in  theory,  by  words ;  Christ,  the  aim  of  the  Bible,  its 
promise,  fulfills  it  in  practice.  The  Bible  tells  (rod's 
way,  Christ  lives  it,  is  it.  Therefore  the  Bible  tells  what 
to  do,  and  he  shows  how  to  be.  The  phrase,  "  Word  of 
God,"  even  in  its  common  meaning,  as  applied  to  Scrip- 
ture, may  therefore  be  applied  to  him,  as  he  speaks  by 
his  very  life.     He  did  not  exaggerate  when  he   said  "  I 

the  destroying  power  of  iniquity,  especially  pointing  to  the  Messiah,  in  view  of  our 
need  of  some  mysterious  supernatural  propitiation  for  sins.  Now  when  the  Christ 
eomes  he  must  bring  us  to  the  standard  of  the  law.  He  must  make  me  what  I 
Gould  not  be  before  ;  he  must  change  and  strengthen  my  will.  He  must  quiet  my  con 
science  by  bringing  my  will  to  the  standard.  By  this  only  he  makes  me  free  from  my 
burden.  Thus  what  the  law  taught,  what  conscience  told  me  that  I  am  not,  this 
must  be  embodied  in  Christ.  He  must  be  such  perfection  that  in  him  the  law  is  ful- 
•filled.  He  must  be  the  expression  of  that  which  the  conscience  of  mankind  requires 
a  man  to  be.  And  in  addition  to  this,  he  must  have  the  power  of  attraction,  which 
th«law  does  not  possess,  in  order  to  enable  me  to  live  according  to  him.  The  law 
taught,  but  left  me  subject  to  my  weak  will ;  and  he,  the  standard,  according  to  the 
law,  also  strengthens  my  will.  I  could  not  love  the  law,  but  I  can  love  him,  there- 
fore I  have  more  strength.  What  duty  told  me  to  do  love  inclines  me  to  do.  By  this 
he  is  the  remedy  for  the  depravity,  he  makes  me  free  of  a  felt  burden.  Hencfc 
he  must  not  be  original  in  his  doctrine,  but  he  must  express  what  the  conscience  of 
mankind  felt  before.  Shall  he  make  me  free  of  a  burden  I  never  had  ?  Therefore 
wise  men  who  studied  the  wants  of  the  human  heart  may  have  expressed  Christ's 
sayings  before,  since  the  law  existed  before.  Christ's  originality  is  in  his  beiag, 
«ot  in  his  saying. 


l8o  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

am  the  way,"  even  according  to  rationalism.  He  doe& 
not  preach  love,  but  he  is  love.  He  preaches  not  acquies- 
sence  in  Providence,  submission  in  privation,  while  sur- 
rounded  by  luxury  and  his  hearers  suffering  starvation ; 
He  does  not  preach  love  and  remain  a  stranger ;  but  the 
true  shepherd,  united  with  his  flock,  he  suffers  above  alL 
The  Prince  of  Peace  has  no  aristocracy.  In  short,  seek-^ 
ing  nothing  for  himself,  he  lived  as  an  ideal  of  unselfish^ 
ness,  love,  perfection  and  submission  to  God. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  write  a  life  of  Christ,  nor  is 
human  language  able  to  describe  the  beauty  of  his  char- 
acter. Rationlists  who  oppose  Christianity,  even  the 
Jewish  historians,  Grastz  and  Jost,  exhaust  language  in 
praising  it.  I  only  must  remark  here  that  the  most  strik- 
ing feature  of  his  life  is  his  work  to  convert  sinners  to 
God  by  imbuing  them  with  a  love  to  his  own  person.  His 
self-devotion  spreads  such  an  air  of  loveliness  and  holi- 
ness around  him  that  it  attracted  hearts  and  made  them 
melt  before  God.  What  reason,  stern  morality  and  diffi- 
dent virtue  could  not  accomplish,  Jesus  accomplishes  by 
his  love.  Mary  Magdalene,  a  sinner,  debased  and  in 
despair,  sees  Jesus,  the  living  love  ;  she  falls  at  his  feet,, 
she  melts  in  tears,  her  heart  breaks  in  contrition,  she 
yearns  for  God.  She  weeps  and  loves,  until  her  heart  is- 
submitted  to  God.  Love  changed  her.  The  love  to  Je- 
sus turned  her  heart  to  God.  She  is  purified,  for  the 
love  to  him  purifies,  cleanses  from  sin.  Love  cleanses- 
more  than  fire.  "  For  strong  as  death  is  love,"  said  King 
Solomon.  Every  desire  and  passion  become  overpow- 
ered, subdued  by  love.     Evervthing  is  dead  where  real 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY,  l8l 

love  speaks.  And  where  the  love  of  God  has  a  voice., 
there  sin  is  silenced,  flesh  loses  its  influence,  hell  and 
Satan  have  no  power.  This  power  to  convert  by  love 
stands  without  a  parallel  in  history.  History  counts  many 
sages,  many  devoted  martyrs ;  the  Bible  tells  of  many 
saints,  and  among  all  the  children  of  Adam,  Jesus  stands 
matchless,  with  his  converting  love.  Multitudes  followed 
him,  attracted  by  his  love.  Multitudes  of  sinners  fol- 
lowed him  in  his  walk  with  God.  Sinners  lived  a  life  of 
saints  since  they  found  and  loved  Jesus.  And  still  his 
life  and  influence  belonged  to  the  God  of  Israel.  He 
took  no  self,  he  did  not  change,  his  life  was  devoted  to 
God,  to  bringing  sinners,  to  God. 

This  Jesus  claimed  to  be  the  expected  Messiah,  and 
worked  most  astonishing  miracles.  He  claimed  to  be 
the  King,  but  desired  no  throne,  for  he  claimed  no  king- 
dom of  this  world.  He  desired  nothing  but  that  people 
should  do  the  will  of  his  Father  in  heaven. 

We  see  that  his  spirit  was  wholly  alien  to  the  ruling 
spirit  of  the  Pharisees.  At  first,  his  life  was  not  in  conform- 
ity to  the  dignity  of  a  Rabbi;  he  went  with  publicans  and 
sinners,  he  had  no  reverence  for  legal  knowledge,  he  told 
the  truth  regardless  of  persons;  he  was  in  one  sense 
what  people  would  now  call  "  unrefined,"  He  also  found 
all  the  value  of  religion  in  the  heart,  and  broke  the  ordi- 
nances publicly.  He  taught  no  Judaism,  but  religion. 
He  cared  for  no  authority.  Secondly,  he  ofl'ended  the 
national  feelings  in  telling  that  it  was  not  sufficient  to  be 
a  son  of  Abraham  in  order  to  go  to  heaven ;  every  one 
is  his  brother  who  does  the  will  of  his  Father  in  heaven. 


l82  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

He  even  had  disciples  among  the  Samaritans.  His  hu- 
mility and  universal  love  were  utterly  offensive  to  the 
Pharisees.  Nothing  in  him  was  according  to  the  expec- 
tations of  the  character  of  the  Messiah.  It  seemed  to 
them  ridiculous  that  this  Gallilean  who  had  nothing, 
should  claim  to  be  the  Messiah.  Especially  were  his 
claims  very  strange;  he  made  belief  in  him  essential  to 
salvation  from  judgment.  He  even  spoke  things  of  him- 
self which  were  unreasonable.  Notwithstanding  his 
humility  and  utmost  unselfishness,  he  claimed  such  things 
as  were  unheard-of.  He  made  everything  of  himself. 
Finally  he  claimed  to  be  the  Son  of  God.  As  much  as 
his  disciples  melted  in  his  love,  so  did  the  majority  de- 
spise and  hate  him,  until  they  condemned  and  crucified 
him  for  blasphemy. 

And  since  then  his  name  has  never  ceased  to  attract 
men  in  love.  There  is  as  much  an  air  of  holiness  and 
love  surrounding  his  name  as  there  was  his  person.  His 
name  draws  and  converts  sinners  to  God.  The  belief  in 
his  name  makes  the  civilized  world  worship  the  God  of 
Israel.  Jesus  is  not  a  name,  but  a  principle  ;  the  princi- 
ple of  everything  good.  He  is  religion.  Not  his  doctrine 
but  himself;  he  is  a  doctrine,  he  is  the  foundation  of  his 
church.  Jesus  is  not  only  the  Christ,  but  Christianity. 
Many  millions  are  called  by  his  name,  and  he  exercises 
the  most  blessed  influences  in  the  history  of  mankind. 
Notwithstanding  all  kinds  of  persecution  his  church 
grew  and  prospered,  and  the  God  of  Abraham  is  the 
God  of  the  Gentiles. 

Still    his   church    never  ceased    to  meet   oppositiaa. 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  183 

Ever  since  he  claimed  to  be  the  Son  of  God  the  Jews 
have  not  ceased  to  consider  it  blasphemy,  and  his  believ- 
ers idolaters.  Just  as  in  the  time  of  the  Apostles,  there 
are  two  classes  of  opposition ;  the  Jews  call  it  idolatry, 
and  the  Gentiles  foolishness.  If  we  want  to  defend 
Christianity  to-day,  we  have  to  do  it  against  a  Jewish 
and  against  a  rationalistic  opposition.  Against  the  for- 
mer we  have  the  Bible,  against  the  latter  history,  and 
against  both  together  the  conclusive  evidence  of  the  ex- 
perience of  man^s  own  heart.  The  biblical  evidences  we 
shall  quote  in  the  following  chapters ;  we  propose  to 
treat  here  of  the  other  evidences. 

The  strongest  witness  for  Christ  is  his  most  firm  oppo- 
ser,  the  Jewish  nation.  Rationalists  oppose  Christianity 
for  the  reason  that  they  refuse  to  believe  in  supernatural 
revelations ;  so  they  deny  the  divine  origin  of  both  Tes- 
taments. If  they  believed  the  Old  they  could  surely  not 
hesitate  to  accept  the  New.  They  admit  that  both  agree, 
but  neither,  say  they,  is  to  be  believed.  Thus  our  evi- 
dence from  "Wandering  Jew,"  which  is  surely  irrefuta- 
ble, is  also  sufficient  for  Christianity.  If  the  Old  Testa- 
ment is  true,  then  rationalism  has  no  foundation.  Thus 
a  Jew  cannot  cite  Renan  or  Strauss  against  Christianity, 
for  these  writers  are  still  more  against  Judaism.  If  a 
Rabbi  is  not  a  hypocrite,  or  inconsistent,  and  does  really 
believe  the  Bible,  as  he  claims,  and  as  he  ought  to  do,  it 
will  be  a  duty  for  him  to  write  against  rationalism  as 
much  as  it  is  for  any  Christian.  When  Voltaire  attacked 
Ihe  Bible  the  Jews  wrote  against  him  ;  to-day  Jewish  Rab- 
feis  cite  Strauss  and  Renan  against  Christianity  and  still 


184  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

claim  to  be  Jews.     As  I   said,  the  evidences  of  the  Old 
Testament  are  sufficient  to  refute  the  rationalists. 

The  next  proof  is,  that  Israel  is  punished ;  their  pun- 
ishment is  perfectly  unexampled,  Israel's  suffering  is 
without  an  equal  in  history.  This  indicates  that  they 
bear  the  consequences  of  the  crucifixion.  Their  spir- 
itual suffering  in  having  such  a  religion  as  the  orthodox 
insanity,  or  the  ridiculous,  arrogant  reform,  notwithstand- 
ing their  having  the  pure  belief  in  the  one  God,  is  also  a 
thing  for  which  reason  cannot  account. 

But  the  most  direct  proof  for  Christianity,  is  the  fact  that 
the  Jews  have  never  ceased  to  believe  that  Jesus  worked 
miracles  by  the  power  of  the  unclean  spirit.  They  con- 
sider his  claim  ridiculous,  and  his  death  deserved.  Thus 
as  this  belief  lives  among  all  the  orthodox  Jews  to-day,, 
and  agrees  exactly  with  what  is  related  about  their  belief 
in  the  New  Testament,  we  have  a  strong  evidence  for  the 
historical  truth  of  that  book.  But  besides  this  tradional 
belief,  there  are  many  passages  in  the  Mishnah  and  Tal- 
mud, which  prove  that  the  Jews  condemned  Jesus  for 
blasphemy,  according  to  their  law.  These  passages  can 
only  be  found  in  some  very  old  editions  of  the  Talmud,, 
for  the  governments  prohibited  their  publication,  which 
was  a  mistake,  as  they  contain  evidences  for  Christian- 
ity. Dr.  Graetz  cites  some  passages  in  his  history  of  the 
Jews  which  force  him  to  admit  it  to  be  an  historical  fact 
that  the  Jews  condemned  Jesus  to  crucifixion  for  blas- 
phemy, on  account  of  his  claim  to  be  the  Son  of  God. 
Dr.  Graetz,  admiring  the  character  of  Jesus  like  a  man 
without  prejudice,   still    defends  the    condemnation  for 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND   CHRISTIANITY.  185 

such  a  claim,  and  considers  it  the  weak  side  of  Jesus  that 
on  account  of  his  success  in  drawing  people  and  con- 
verting sinners,  he  finally  became  ambitious  enough  to 
make  such  a  claim.  At  the  same  time,  Dr.  Graetz  is  not 
moved  to  believe  that  he  also  worked  miracles.  Now, 
I  ask  whether  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the 
Jews  would  have  condemned  Jesus,  or  even  noticed  him, 
if  he  had  not  worked  miracles.  Could  any  one  claim  to 
be  the  Messiah  and  the  Son  of  God^  and  at  the  same  time 
be  no  conqueror,  but  an  humble  countryman,  without 
working  miracles  ?  Multitudes  followed  him,  some  be- 
lieved, the  majority  did  not,  in  spite  of  the  miracles. 
The  Jews  of  that  time  were  not  yet  reformed,  and  surely 
believed  in  supernatural  things.  Is  it  possible  that  he 
could  excite  such  interest  without  miracles  ?  Without 
them,  the  claim  to  be  the  Son  of  God  would  surely  have 
provoked  the  laughter,  not  the  condemnation  of  the 
Rabbis.  Thus,  if  the  Jewish  literature  proves  that  Christ 
claimed  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  it  also  proves  his  miracles. 
But  historians  like  Mr.  Graetz,  and  others,  refusing  to  be- 
lieve miracles  which  history  relates,  manufacture  parts 
of  history  of  their  own  in  order  to  have  a  history  accord- 
ing to  rationalism.  But  writing  history  does  not  make 
it  such.  History  cannot  be  manufactured.  The  fact 
that  Jesus  was  condemned  on  account  of  his  claim,  and 
was  considered  unclean,  is  a  sufficient  proof  that  his  mir- 
acles are  historical  facts.  Thus  one  can  not  defend  the 
condemnation  of  Jesus  from  the  rational  platform,  but  he 
must  try  to  do  so  from  the  platform  of  the  Rabbis,  the 
one  of  belief.     If  his  condemnation    is    justified,    then 


r86  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

Christ  must  have  had  a  devil,  as  the  Rabbis  claimed ; 
and  if  not,  then  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God.  History  has 
neither  Rabbis  ;nor  a  Christ  as  they  are  represented  by 
the  rationalists.  History  has  things  which  must  be  be- 
lieved, and  cannot  be  understood.  Mr.  Gr^etz,  who  is 
convinced  of  the  historical  fact  of  the  claim,  ought  to 
admit  the  logical  consequence  of  it,  and  confess  that 
either  Jesus  had  a  devil  or  he  proved  his  claims,  and  the 
Rabbis  had  a  devil ;  there  is  no  way  between.  We  see 
that  the  Jews  furnish  most  conclusive  evidence  for  the 
miracles  of  both  Testaments,  consequently  there  is  a 
religion  given  from  God,  and  it  becomes  our  dearest  in- 
terest, and  most  sacred  duty  to  accept  it.  One  is  true, 
Judaism  or  Christianity.  We  have  seen  what  Judaism 
offers,  we  shall  also  see  what  Christianity  affords.  I  have 
shown  the  method  by  which  the  Rabbis  derive  their  au- 
thority from  Scripture.  I  shall  also  show  on  what 
grounds  Christ  claims  his  authority  from  the  Bible.  There 
is  no  other  way,  a  man  must  choose.  Two  antago- 
nistic parties  contesting  about  the  origin  of  miracles, 
each  exasperated  against  the  other,  both  admitting  the 
fact,  and  that  the  contest  is  only  about  the  origin  of  it, 
we  see  that  this  fact  has  consequences  in  history  which 
are  marvelous  of  themselves.  Shall  we  still  deny  that 
the  miracles  have  happened,  and  ignore  them  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  our  real  life  depends  upon  our  right  decis- 
ion in  the  matter  ?  The  Jews  and  the  Christians  concur 
in  stating  the  main  facts,  and  providence  has  since 
spoken  in  history  ;  shall  we  still  ignore  the  fact  of  the 
miracles  and  not  choose  a  religion  ?     Is  it  possible  that 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  187 

miracles   never  happened,  with  our  evidences  so  clear? 
Reader,  choose ! 

Some  of  those  who  reject  the  literal  belief  in  any  mir- 
acle, and  take  them  to  be  legends,  still  find  the  miracles 
of  Moses  more  imposing,  more  powerful,  more  public, 
and  therefore  consider  these  to  be  poetical  expressions 
of  historical  facts,  and  those  of  the  New  Testament  to  be 
impositions.  The  amiable  and  great  Jewish  philosopher, 
Mendelsohn,  refused  to  believe  the  miracles  of  the  New, 
while  he  believed  those  of  the  Old  Testament,  on  ac- 
count of  the  latter's  being  performed  more  publicly. 
Also  the  humble  writer  of  this,  once  not  admitting 
the  miracles  to  be  facts,  and  still  claiming  to  be  an 
adherent  of  the  Old  Testament,  like  all  the  Reformers, 
expressed  himself  through  the  press,  that  the  Old  Testa- 
ment relates  miracles  of  history,  while  the  New  Testa- 
ment only  histories  of  miracles,  which  two  kinds  should 
be  distinguished  when  we  study  the  history  of  the  mira- 
acles.  I  came  to  this  conclusion,  because  I  seemed  to 
perceive  that  the  miracles  of  Moses  were  interwoven  with 
the  history  of  the  whole  nation.  They  are  said  to  have 
happened  for  the  benefit  and  in  presence  of  all  the 
people,  while  those  of  Christ  were  of  a  more  private  char- 
acter. Thus,  I  said,  the  first  were  popular  legends,  born 
of  the  imagination  of  the  people  and  their  bards,  and  have 
some  historical  facts  as  a  foundation  ;  but  the  latter  must 
be  simply  inventions.  I  followed  in  principle  some  of 
the  unbelieving  German  Hebraists,  without  applying 
the  same  to  the  miracles  of  the  New  Testament,  like 
some  rationalists.     As  poetry  I  could  not  find  the  mira- 


1 88  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

cles  of  the  New  Testament  poetically  correct.  I  said, 
the  first  miracles  had  poetical  truths  which  I  missed  in 
the  others.  I  found  no  historical  motive  to  justify  the 
invention.  Taking  all  miracles  as  an  invention,  I  had 
reason  to  say  so;  indeed.  Christ's  miracles  are  of  such  a 
character  that  they  would  be  a  very  low,  even  an  absurd 
invention,  notwithstanding  the  great  scholar  Strauss 
so  deceives  himself  as  to  make  myths  of  them.  But 
I  found  that  the  miracles  of  Elijah  and  Elisha  were  of 
exactly  the  same  character ;  they  were  wrought  privately, 
to  help  some  private  persons ;  they  cannot  be  consid- 
ered as  historical  facts  transfigured  into  miracles  by  an 
innocent  imagination.  I  said,  therefore,  that  Elijah  and 
Elisha  bear  the  character  of  New  Testament  prophets, 
and  I  would  no  longer  consider  them  Israelitish  proph- 
ets. They  ought  to  belong  to  the  New  Testament, 
(because  they  did  not  suit  the  principle  about  miracles 
which  I  followed.)  The  fact  is,  as  a  Reformer,  not  being 
in  earnest  with  anything  concerning  religion,  only  at- 
tached to  the  Old  Testament  by  the  tie  of  the  sweet  and 
powerful  holy  language,  and  race-pride,  any  thought 
occurring  to  my  mind  which  could  be  used  to  refute  the 
New  Testament,  I  expressed  with  satisfaction,  especially 
as  I  was  applauded  by  every  Reformer.  But  indeed, 
not  all  the  miracles  of  the  Pentateuch  are  of  the  same 
public,  imposing,  poetical  character.  For  instance, 
God's  wrestling  with  Jacob,  which  I  have  cited  in  the 
tenth  chapter,  would  make  the  most  absurd  poetry ;  also 
Moses'  first  conversation  with  the  Lord  when  he  refused 
to  0^0  to  Pharaoh,  and  the  Lord's  meeting  him  afterwards 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRIS  riANFTV .  I  89 

in  the  inn  by  tlie  way,  wht-n  he  sought  to  kill  him,  until 
Zipporah  circumscised  her  son  ;  Ex.  iv ;  what  a  sublime 
poetry  that  would  make.  And  so  are  a  great  number  of 
the  miracles.  And  truly,  Elijah's  and  Elisha's  miracles 
and  those  of  the  New  Testament  are  of  one  character. 
They  were  not  performed  in  order  to  persuade,  to  con- 
vince, to  make  disciples ;  the  miracles  are  only  related 
with  the  history  of  the  performers  of  them.  Elijah  and 
Elisha  made  a  barrel  of  flour  or  a  pot  of  oil  inexhausti- 
ble, and  revived  dead  children,  not  in  order  to  prove 
that  they  were  prophets,  but  to  help  the  poor  broken- 
hearted women.  So  Christ's  miracles  are  more  of  a  pri- 
vate character,  mere  acts  of  benevolence ;  they  belong 
to  the  history  of  his  life.  Thus  we  may  say  that  even 
Elijah  himself  was  already  in  some  respects  a  forerunner 
■of  Christ.  As  I  had  no  real  religion,  since  I  gave  up 
the  belief  of  the  mind,  because  seeing  no  effect  of  it, 
therefore  I  could  not  believe  in  Elijah  and  Elisha.  (I 
must  confess,  though,  that  I  had  not  a  few  pangs  of  con- 
science for  ridiculing  them,  even  in  unbelief.)  Only  after 
Christ's  life  and  love  had  touched  my  heart,  I  could 
easily  believe  in  every  prophecy ;  for  the  belief  proved 
to  be  an  effectual  one.  I  could  see  that  there  is  a  (xod 
of  the  Bible,  of  Israel.  I  found  the  aim  of  the  belief. 
I  could  believe  in  supernatural  things  since  I  felt  that  a 
supernatural  power  influenced  my  own  heart.  I  found 
the  God  of  revelation  in  my  heart,  and  would  believe 
Him.  Pint  since  we  find  historical  evidences  for  the 
miracles  of  the  New  Testament,  then  we  must  say  that 
they  are  even  more  public  than  any  of  the  Old,  with  the 
13 


190  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

exception  of  those  which  happened  when  the  Israelites 
were  all  in  the  camp.  Thus  it  was  only  the  circumstance 
that  the  Jews  lived  all  over  their  land,  which  prevented 
Christ's  miracles  from  being  as  public  as  those  of  Moses. 
And  this  publicity  is  not  necessary,  since  the  Jews  testify  to 
their  performance  even  to  this  day.  All  distinctions  as  to 
the  character  of  the  different  miracles  are  vain  wlien  we 
have  evidence  that  they  must  have  been  actually  per- 
formed. It  is  immaterial  what  character  a  miracle  has, 
so  long  as  it  has  the  character  of  a  miracle  it  testifies  to 
God's  supernatural  religion.  Therefore  all  the  above 
cited  objections  are  refuted  by  the  historical  evidence. 

As  touching  the  miracles  in  general,  I  said  in  the 
beginning  that  it  is  not  my  object  to  prove  their  natural 
possibility,  nor  do  I  believe  any  philosopher  can  do  it. 
Some  Germans,  believing  rationalists,  so-called,  tried  to 
prove  that  the  miracles  agree  with  natural  laws.  They 
consider  that  it  is  possible  for  the  human  nature  to  ascend 
above  that  which  we  consider  as  human  nature.  They 
sublimate  man  above  humanity  and  bring  him  so  near 
to  God  by  virtue  of  his  own  moral  will,  that  he  is  enabled 
to  work  miracles.  By  this  principle  they  define  the  doc- 
trine of  the  divinity  in  Christ.  This  school,  stands, 
according  to  my  humble  view,  on  the  same  platform 
with  Maimoiiides,  the  inconsistent  Aben  Esra,and  many 
Jewish  philosophers,  in  thinking  that  they  must  believe 
and  still  understand  everything.  Man,  according  to 
these  rationalists,  is  neither  man  as  we  know  him,  nor 
the  man  of  the  Bible.  This  doctrine  can  not  possibly  be 
reconciled  with    Judaism  or    Christianity.       Revelation. 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  I91 

and  miracles  can  only  be  caused  by  the  sublime  free 
grace  of  God,  else  they  are  either  no  revelations,  or  the 
revelation  is  not  for  us,  who  are  common  men.  We  should 
need  the  sublime  power  of  a  Moses,  the  prophets,  and 
Christ,  in  order  to  derive  any  benefit  from  their  revela- 
tions, if  their  revelations  were  only  on  account  of  their 
own  sublime  nature.  Israel's  being  chosen  must  make 
us  suppose  that  every  single  Israelite  was  a  sublime  man 
according  to  this  system.  If  Christ's  divinity  was  simply 
an  exaltation  of  his  own  nature,  then  we  ought  to  have- 
Christs  in  every  generation,  at  least  prophets.  As  soon 
as  we  believe  that  there  were  prophets,  we  must  believe 
that  they  only  could  be  so  by  the  free  supernatural  will 
of  God.  Anything  we  try  to  press  into  the  laws  of  cre- 
ation must  be  seen  in  creation  now.  It  is  logically  im- 
posssble  to  believe  the  prophets  if  prophecy  could  be 
understood^  it  is  still  less  possible  to  believe  in  Christ  if  his 
divinity  has  to  be  intelligible.  This  school  is  inconsistent,, 
they  believed,  but  the  offspring  was  a  system  like  that  of 
Strauss  and  the  Tuebingen  school. 

So  soon  as  we  have  historical  evidence  that  miracles 
have  been  performed,  we  must  accept  them  without  find- 
ing a  reason.  If  they  are  reasonable,  then  they  are  nO' 
miracles. 

Returning  to  the  evidences,  we  have  so  far  gained  all 
of  them  from  the  Jews.  Besides  theirs,  we  have  the  fol- 
lowing : 

The  character  of  Christ  is  the  strongest  proof  that  his 
claim  must  be  true,  when  we  see  that  it  is  historical. 
Contemplating  his  character,  how  can  we  mistrust  him  } 


192  MINI)    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

His  character  is  admired  more  than  that  of  any  man 
by  every  one  of  his  opposers.  Atheists,  Pantheists,  De- 
ists, and  Rationalists  unite  in  his  praise  as  one  unique  in 
history,  as  a  model  of  perfection.  Strauss,  Renan,  and 
all  who  write  against  Christianity  exhaust  language 
in  praising  him.  His  character  spreads  out  an  odor  of 
sweetness,  beauty  and  love ;  how  could  he  be  an  im- 
postor ?  How  can  we  unite  his  simple  wisdom  with  the 
character  of  a  dreamer,  a  lunatic  even,  who  claimed  to 
be  the  Son  of  God  .^  And  his  character  is  such  that  it 
cannot  even  be  the  product  of  human  imagination,  as  is 
also  admitted  by  all  unbelievers.  It  cannot  be  doubted 
that  his  character  is  historical.  No  one  but  the  Jews 
who  claim  that  he  had  a  devil,  ever  contemplated  his 
character  without  paying  his  tribute  of  admiration  and 
love.  And  these  Jews  can  only  accuse  him  of  blas- 
phemy. Even  enlightened  Jewsadmit  his  supreme  char- 
acter. The  great  Jew,  Spinoza,  the  hero  of  philosophy,  and 
the  Jewish  historians  praise  his  character  not  less  than 
his  devoted  worshipers.  Unitarians,  who  have  detached 
themselves  from  the  church,  for  whom  the  Bible  is  no  au- 
thority, still  build  houses  in  which  they  claim  to  worship 
him.  Now,  must  there  not  be  something  supernatural 
about  him,  that  the  Jews  could  accuse  such  a  man  of 
having  a  devil  ?  Naturally,  the  Jews  are  more  inclined 
to  love  everything  that  is  good  and  noble,  perhaps  more 
than  any  other  nation,  and  still  concerning  Christ  they 
exhibited  such  a  feeling  that  the  world  has  always  mis- 
understood the  Jewish  people  on  this  account.  Must 
there  not  be  something  supernatural  about  it  1     Must  it 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  I93 

not  be  a  curse  for  misusing  the  divine  religion  they  pos- 
sessed that  they  are  perfectly  blinded  concerning  his 
character  ? 

Next  to  his  character  is  that  of  his  Apostles. 

What  motive  could  the  Apostles  have  to  relate 
such  impossibilities  in  connection  with  the  sublime 
character  of  Jesus?  Those  men  who  followed  their 
Master  in  living  without  self,  who  sought  no  glory 
of  men,  who  even  sacrificed  their  lives  to  their  doctrines, 
who  worked,  to  convert  men  to  God, — what  object  did 
they  have  to  invent  lies  ?  Those  men  who  breathe  such 
a  simple  wisdom,  could  they  not  invent  things  more  cred- 
ible to  adorn  the  name  of  their  Master  ?  Was  it  their 
only  object  to  promulgate  belief  in  f/it'ir  Master?  then 
they  could  have  accomplished  this  much  more  easily, 
without  claiming  for  him  the  title  of  Son  of  God,  born 
of  a  virgin.  Why  did  they  make  it  so  difficult  to  believe, 
if  their  story  was  only  an  invention  ?  The  doctrine  of 
the  incarnation  was  surely  an  obstacle  in  their  own  way. 
How  can  the  imagination  of  men  produce  a  Son  of  God  ? 
How  could  Jews  do  it  and  preach  the  God  of  the  Jews  ? 

Besides,  we  have  four  gospels  which  could  not  have 
been  written  with  collusion  ;  for  one  could  not  have 
known  of  the  others'  writing,  and  they  all  concur  in  the 
main  object ;  they  present  to  us  the  same  Christ,  the 
same  doctrines,  the  same  religion.  The  very  fact  that 
they  disagree  in  the  specification  of  some  miracles,  proves 
that  the  one  knew  nothing  of  the  others'  Avriting,  a  thing 
which  must  be  supposed  if  their  hero  and  his  miracles 
were  only  an  invention.      How  could   they   agree  in  the 


194  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

main  object  if  it  was  not  true?  Their  little  contradic- 
tions prove  their  innocence.  That  some  misunderstand- 
ings and  errors  crept  in  is  very  natural.  Take  four 
honest  eye-witnesses,  to  describe  any  occurrence,  or  bat- 
tle, and  you  will  usually  find  them  disagreeing  in  some 
details,  while  their  agreement  in  the  main  object  will 
prove  the  truthfulness  of  each.  This  will  be  still  more 
the  case  when  they  relate  partly  as  eye-witnesses  and 
partly  what  they  heard.  (Some  contradictions  may  also 
arise  from  later  copying,  and  the  creeping  in  of  some 
spurious  passages.)  Thus  the  Gospel  contradictions  are 
not  only  very  far  from  being  evidence  against  it,  but  they 
really  testify  to  it.  This  is  even  admitted  by  rational- 
ists. (See  Renan.)  We  also  find  errors  and  some  con- 
tradictions in  the  Old  Testament.  Providence  has 
watched  over  the  Bible  to  preserve  pure  for  us  all  the 
historical  and  religious  truths  which  are  necessary  for  us 
to  know,  trifling  details  were  left  subject  to  the  natural 
fate  of  other  books.  That  Saul  was  only  one  year  old  at 
the  beginning  of  his  reign  is  surely  an  error  in  the  Bible, 
which  still  does  not  affect  the  truth  of  Saul's  history,  or 
the  moral  we  derive  from  it.  And  so  we  find  other  errors 
and  contradictions,  which  still  can  not  aftect  the  divine 
truth  of  Scripture.  It  seems  that  Providence  left  stumb- 
ling blocks  even  in  Scripture, 

I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  there  is  no  distinctions  to 
be  made  between  the  two  Testaments.  In  one  respect 
they  form  together  one  Bible,  they  are  both  given  to  us 
by  the  God  of  Israel;  together  they  contain  what  is 
necessary  for  His  religion.     We  see  that  the  ancient  peo- 


OK,    JUDAISM    AND    C  HRIS  I'l  ANITY.  I95 

pie  have  no  benefit  of  the  Old  Testament  alone.     But  in 
another  sense  there   are  great   distinctions  to  be  made. 
The  New  breathes  more  the  spirit  of  consolation,  it  con- 
tains everything  in  full.      It  is  the    open   rose,  while  the 
Old  is  the  bud  of  it.     It  was  the  fragrancy  *of  the  open 
rose  which  attracted  the  world,  while  the  external  change 
of  the  bud  caused  the  error   of  its   owners   in  thinking 
that  it  could  not  be  the  fruit  of  their  bud,  of  which  they 
expected  a  different   harvest.     Not  cultivating  the  bud 
according   to   the    will   of  the   One    who   planted  it,  the 
misunderstanding  was  a  natural  result.     The  value  of  the 
New    Testament    is   entirely   spiritual.     As  the  religion 
changed  from  a  visible  to  a  spiritual,  so  the  book.     The 
Old  Testament  has  its  spirit  more   hidden,  but  there  is 
holiness  in  the  words.     It  contains  "  7cwy/-t  "  of  God,  the 
New,  so  to  say,   His   sentiments.     The   principle  which 
distinguishes  the  two  churches  prevails  all  over,  even  in 
the  books.     We  may  compare  the  old  dispensation  to  the 
body,  while  the  New  is  the  soul.     So  that  we  find  a  holi- 
ness in  the  very  words  of  the  Old  Testament.     The  body 
died,  and  there  is  just  enough  left  of  it  to  testify  to  the 
spirit.     We  must  know  whose  spirit  it  is.    The  Prophets 
uttered  words  ^\'hich  were  literally   spoken    by  the  Holy 
Ghost.     This  is  not  the  case  with   the   Evangelists.     We 
.must  not  forget  that  even  the  words  of  Christ  which  we 
ihave,  are  not  in  the  language  he  used.     We  have  not  a 
single  one  of  his  sermons  in  full.  The  Old  Testament  has  a 
Jioly  language  ;  the  New  has  not.  The  old  church  was  given 
to  a  people  chosen   in  the   seed,  it  was  a  garden  fenced 
in.    Therefore  the  words  were  watched  and  counted  even. 


196  MIND    AND     KEART    IN    RELIGION; 

The  New  is  opened  to  the  world,  free  for  everybody,  a 
public  garden ;  the  owners  are  chosen  spiritually. 
Therefore  the  New  Testament  was  more  subjected  to 
corruption  in  the  text.  It  is,  though,  obviously  the  hand 
of  Providence  which  has  kept  the  Book  for  us,  preserv- 
ing pure  what  was  necessary,  and  leaving  even  the  cor- 
ruptions to  be  a  testimony  for  that  which  is  pure.  The 
most  reckless  critics  among  the  opposers  of  Christianity 
are  compelled  to  admit  that  enough  of  the  Evangelies  is 
authentic  to  establish  the  fundamental  doctrines  of 
Christianity.  Also  the  authenticity  of  the  Apocalypse  is 
admitted  by  the  unbelievers.  It  is  also  admitted  that 
some  of  the  Gospels  existed  before  the  destruction  of  Je- 
rusalem. In  short  rationalists  can  not  deny  that  Jesus 
claimed  to  be  the  Son  of  God.  Now,  if  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  Testament  is  established,  how  can  we 
doubt  the  credibility  of  its  writers .?  For  we  surely  find  the 
most  irrefutable  evidence  for  the  Evangelists  in  the  fact 
that  they  exercise  such  an  intense  power  in  drawing 
men  to  God. 

Besides  the  Evangelists,  we  find  Paul,  the  man  of  the 
most  self-denial  after  Christ.  Paul,  the  Jew  of  the  Jews, 
the  terror  of  the  church,  the  Pharisee  of  learning,  this 
Paul  agrees  with  the  other  Evangelists  in  the  main  doc- 
trines. The  most  radical  rationalists,  like  the  Tuebingen 
school,  after  employing  the  most  reckless  criticism,  admit 
that  the  first  four  Epistles  of  Paul  were  genuine.  In  the 
name  of  everything  which  is  true,  in  the  name  of  honor 
and  humanity,  I  ask  every  reader,  can  you  say  that  Paul, 
that   suffering    Paul,   that    man  who  was    dead   to    him- 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  I97 

self,  was  he  an  imposter  ?  He  risked  his  life  num- 
berless times,  suffered  imprisonment,  and  even  beat- 
ings, had  a  good  many  other  things  to  suffer,  (of  which 
few  can  form  so  near  an  idea  as  the  writer  of  these 
lines),  and  this  Paul  toiled  laboriously  for  his  own  bread  ; 
was  he  an  imposter?  If  Christ  had  no  witness  but 
Paul,  I  think  it  ought  to  be  sufficient  to  move  a  heart  of 
stone.*  In  short,  wa  cannot  take  the  New  Testament 
to  be  an  invention,  for  the  character  of  Christ  is  too 
sublime,  and  the  rest  to  which  it  relates  would  be  too  ab- 
surd for  any  human  imagination  to  invent.  It  is  psycho- 
logically impossible  for  the  human  imagination  to  create 
either  such  a  Jesus  or  such  miracles  in  connection  with 
him.  Especially  when  we  consider  these  most  sublime 
doctrines  and  the  devotion  to  God  which  it  teaches,  and 


*  111  former  days  Paul  often  caused  me  disturbance.  1  always  admired  him,  and 
could  never  find  an  answer  when  a  voice  in  my  heart  asked  me,  what  will  you  do 
with  Paul?  I  remember  that  just  two  years  before  I  was  converted,  Paul  engaged 
my  mind  very  seriously,  I  tried  hard  to  interpret  Paul  into  my  i-ational  system  with- 
out success.  At  the  same  time  it  never  occurred  to  me  that  Christianity  could  pos- 
sibly be  true  on  account  of  that.  I  would  rather  have  believed  anything  than  in  the 
possibility  that  I  could  ever  be  converted.  I  believe  I  would  have  killed  myself  if  I 
had  expected  to  live  and  be  converted.  I  considered  it  the  greatest  disgrace.  It  is 
truly  a  disgrace,  but  not  in  the  eyes  of  Israel's  God.  Yet  a  few  months  before  I  was 
converted,  while  I  was  unconsciously  steering  towards  it  very  fast,  I  expressed  to  a 
Christian  that  a  converted  Jew  can  never  be  sincere.  "  Paul,"  was  the  laconic  an- 
swer. It  made  my  heart  tremble,  without  knowing  why.  Many  days  the  word 
"  Paul,"  reverberated  in  my  ears.  I  never  could,  nor  shall  I  ever  forget  the  impres- 
sion of  that  moment.  The  last  days  before  my  conversion  became  completed,  hardly 
an  hour  passed  that  I  did  not  ask  myself,  "  Was  Paul  a  liar  ?"  How  wonderfully 
Providence  united  an  endless  number  of  trifling  things  to  work  out  my  conversion, 
without  my  having  the  least  anticipation  of  it.  What  an  endless  number  of  inci- 
dents united  to  prepare  my  conversion,  I  cannot  possibly  describe  them  all.  Once  it 
was  to  convince  the  mind  ;  another  time  the  heart,  and  I  was  aware  of  nothing. 
Jewish  brethren,  I  ask  you  1   "  Paul  ?" 


'19^  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

the  persecutions  and  martyrdom  which  those  teachings 
-entailed,  it  becomes  impossible  to  believe  that  lies  could 
produce  such  a  devotion  to  Ciod  and  such  a  morality. 
The  presumption  that  what  the  New  Testament  relates 
was  a  lie  cannot  possibly  be  united  with  the  fact  that  it 
■  teaches  such  sublime  truths.  The  character  of  the  book, 
and  of  its  writers,  especially  that  of  the  wonderful  Paul,  are 
-sufficient  witnesses  for  themselves.  » 

Besides  Christ's  miracles,  which  are  related  in  the  New 
Testament,  we  find  the  most  stupendous  miracle  of  his- 
tory, in  the  fact  that  the  Gentiles  believed.  This  miracle 
can  not  be  disputed,  and  therefore  it  testifies  to  the  truth 
of  the  other  miracles.  The  Gentiles,  who  knew  notliing 
of  the  God  of  Israel,  the  proud  Grecians  and  Romans, 
accepted  the  God  of  the  Jews  ;  the  inhabitants  of  the  re- 
mote islands  fell  down  to  worship  the  God  of  Israel; 
Heathen  sang  David's  psalms  as  soon  as  they  heard  the 
tidings  of  Jesus  Christ.  Is  this  not  a  stupendous  miracle  ? 
A  few  poor,  unknown  and  despised  Galileean  Jews,  liated 
•and  persected  by  their  own  people,  mocked  at  by  all  the 
^vorld,  still  established  the  Christian  Church  !  These 
Tuen  went  into  the  distant  regions  of  the  world  to  tell 
their  story;  the  Grecians  called  it  foolishness  and  the 
Jews  idolatry ;  they  told  things  against  all  logic  and  sci- 
ence, and  the  C.rrecians  and  Romans  believed !  They 
believed  without  having  our  historical  proofs.  The  Old 
Testament  was  no  authority  for  them,  the  history  of  the 
Jewish  people  was  not  yet  so  marvelous  for  the  eye  of  ev- 
ery observer.  What  made  Gentiles  give  up  their  habits, 
their  lusts  and  carnal  joys  if  not  truly  a  spirit  from  God  } 


OR,    JUDAISM    AN!)    CHRISTI ANl'fY.  I99 

Shining  gold  has  not  l)ribed  them,  power  and  glory  was 
not  to  be  gained,  everything  was  to  be  lost,  nothing  gained, 
and  still  they  believed  !  They  believed  and  turned  their 
hearts  to  the  God  of  Jacob  in  contrition  and  love.  The 
very  fact  that  the  story  which  the  Apostles  related  sounds 
so  unreasonable  and  absurd  makes  the  belief  of  it  a  marvel. 
Especially  as  they  found  believers  among  the  different 
classes  of  society,  among  different  nations  and  in  differ- 
ent countries.  If  it  is  marvelous  enough  that  they  be- 
lieved, it  is  still  more  so  that  they  did  it  in  spite  of  per- 
secutions and  even  martyrdom.  For  not  only  were  the 
first  Christians  not  persuaded  to  believe  by  the  sword, 
like  the  Mahommedans,  but  on  the  contrary,  they  even 
were  persecuted.  The  sufferings  of  the  first  Christians 
were  even  severer  than  those  of  the  Jews  and  Protestants 
in  the  time  of  the  inquisition.  If  the  Jews  died  for  the 
religion  of  their  fathers  there  is  a  psychological  reason 
for  it  ;  it  is  the  religion  of  their  fathers.  But  Gentiles 
believed  and  became  martyrs ;  it  was  only  required  of  them 
to  deny  Christ  with  their  mouth,  and  they  instead  suffered 
the  hardest  death  which  a  most  cruel  oppressor  could  in- 
flict upon  them.  And  this  for  a  religion  just  embraced 
and  new  of  itself.  Does  this  not  testify  that  they  were 
convinced  by  the  power  of  God  ?  The  more  unreason- 
able the  belief  was,  the  more  proof  it  is  that  a  supernatu- 
ral power  musfhave  given  strength  of  faith  in  order  to 
die  for  it.  It  is  no  marvel  that  the  christian  religion  had 
martyrs,  martyrs  do  not  prove  the  truth  of  a  cause,  since 
every  cause  has  its  martyrs.  It  is  only  a  marvel  that  the 
young  religion  found  its    martyrs    so    rapidly.     Gentiles 


20C  MIND     AND    HEART    1N    RELIGION; 

died  for  a  foreign  religion.  While  Christianity  was  so 
much  despised  and  so  fearfully  persecuted.  Gentiles  be- 
lieved, endangered  their  lives  aud  became  martyrs.  To 
believe  and  become  a  martyr  was  an  every  day  occur- 
rence. 

And  not  only  was  Christianity  not  promulgated,  and 
even  persecuted  by  the  sword,  but  it  finally  con(]uered 
the  sword.  In  spite  of  all  imaginable  persecutions,  in 
spite  of  the  most  cruel  deaths  which  the  believers  suffer- 
ed, the  new,  foreign  religion  grew  and  spread  until  it  con- 
cpiered  its  persecutors.  It  conquered  the  throne  which 
persecuted  it.  It  grew  until  the  murderer  Constantine, 
called  "the  Great,"  saw  the  necessity  of  accepting  it. 
Christianity  gained  so  much  influence  that  the  state  had 
to  court  its  friendship, 

1  must  remark  here  that  it  was  not  beneficial  to  the 
true  religion  that  the  state  was  zealous  to  avail  itself  of 
the  influence  of  the  church.  For  this  planted  elements 
of  the  state  into  the  ground  of  the  church,  so  that  men 
of  the  world  represented  the  religion,  and  ambition  took 
the  seat  which  belonged  to  humility  and  devotion.  It 
never  could  be  Christ's  church  whicli  stretched  her  hand 
to  grasp  a  scepter,  but  the  elements  of  the  state,  planted 
into  the  church.  It  went  so  far  that  even  unmasqued 
infidels  represented  the  church  and  made  it  the  most 
dangerous  enemy  of  religion.  The  conse(|uence  was 
that  the  church,  which  existed  in  the  name  of  the  loving 
Christ,  this  church  which  should  represent  humility  and 
love,  which  should  win  by  the  spirit  of  love  and  holiness, 
this  church  persecuted  and  exercised  the  most  cruel  des- 


OR,    JUDAISM    AM)    CHRISTIANITY.  20T 

potism,  which  was  against  Christ's  spirit.  An  extreme 
anti-christian  spirit  in  the  church  alone  could  create 
such  an  institution  as  the  inquisition.  This  inquisiton, 
which  the  world  considers  the  darkest  spot  in  the  his- 
tory of  Christianity,  was  far  more  antagonistic  and 
dangerous  to 'the  Christian  than  to  the  Jewish  religion, 
even  though  assuming  the  name  of  Christianity. 

I  must  even  say  that  to-day  any  aspirations  of  Christ- 
ians towards  civil  power  in  order  to  promulgate  Christian 
ideas  by  virtue  of  it,  is  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  Christ. 
Christianity  wants  no  law,  no  arms,  but  the  spirit  of  love. 
Wherever  and  whenever  men  make  efforts  to  use  the 
force  of  law  for  religious  ideas  or  institutions,  they  are 
surely  not  moved  by  the  spirit  of  Christ,  no  matter  how 
laudable  their  undertaking  may  be  in  itself.  It  may  in- 
deed be  their  sacred  duty  as  men,  but  not  as  Christians, 
in  the  name  of  the  religion.  Christ  desires  no  throne 
but  that  of  the  heart,  and  no  submission  l)ut  that  of 
love.  That  alone  is  Christianity  which  is  taught  in  the 
Bible,  and  there  is  no  necessity  to  show  that  Christ 
teaches  not  to  improve  sinners  or  society  by  legal  force. 
What  is  gained  by  forcing  any  one  to  a  religious  deed, 
since  God  only  wants  the  heart,  and  looks  upon  the  mo- 
tive }  Christianity  has  and  wants  no  visible  ])ower. 
Legal  force  in  the  name  of  God  can  never  be  justified. 
Law  is  antagonistic  to  Christianity,  because  its  aim  is  to 
lead  mankind  to  a  state  where  no  law  is  needed.  Law 
is  narrowness  ;  religion  is  broad,  wide,  endless  ;  it  is  love. 
Law  is  necessary  in  the  world  only,  because  it  has  not  the 
spirit  of  Christ.       Law  in  religion  is  the  spirit  of  Phari- 


202  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

seeism.  "  Beware  of  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees."  Law- 
is  ^'here  a  little^  there  a  little y  Christianity  is  a  principle, 
monotheism.  Whenever  the  force  of  law  was  used  in  the 
name  of  the  religion  it  always  had  the  opposite  effect ; 
it  also  created  hypocrisy,  and  made  ''the  7V ay  of  the  trjith 
evil  spoken  of,"  if  it  did  no  greater  h^m.  ''  Not  by 
might,  nor  by  power,  but  by  my  spirit,  says  the  Lord  of 
Hosts." — Zach.  iv  :   6. 

Returning  to  our  topic,  we  tind  that  neither  law  nor 
the  sword  promulgated  Christianity,  but  quite  the  con- 
trary. This  is  according  to  history,  if  we  read  it  with 
an  open  eye,  and  do  not  misunderstand  Christianity. 
Thus,  as  I  said,  the  fact  that  the  Gentiles  believed,  be- 
came martyrs,  and  that  the  religion  spread  so  rapidly 
and  extensively,  is  the  most  stupendous  miracle,  testify- 
ing that  only  the  divine  spirit  could  promulgate  the  re- 
ligion, and  the  Apostles  were  only  instruments  in  the 
hands  of  God.  Civilized  peoples  could  not  have  left 
their  temples,  their  orators  and  philosophers,  and  yielded 
to  the  doctrine  of  poor  Jews,  if  those  had  nothing  but 
human  reason  and  logic  to  persuade  and  convince  of  the 
truth  of  things  naturally  impossible.  The  very  existence 
of  the  church  is  a  marvel  in  itself,  and  testifies  to  its 
truth. 

And  what  a  sublime  influence  this  religion  exercised 
over  the  hearts  of  its  true  believers  !  How  many  mil- 
lions of  hearts  it  has  purified  and  filled  with  consolation, 
hope  and  joy  !  How  many  sinking  souls  it  has  lifted  up  ! 
Shall  we  mistrust  the  religion  because  it  was  misused.^ 
Shall  we  make  the  religion  responsible  for  men  who  com- 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRIST] ANITY.  203. 

mitted  everything  which  is  against  the  religion  they  claim- 
ed to  defend  ?  Is  the  religion  false  because  there  are 
hypocrites  who  claim  to  follow  it,  and  sincere  men  who 
misunderstand  it  ^  We  see  men  misuse  everything  which 
is  great  and  noble.  How  many  Avere  oppressed,  impris- 
oned, and  murdered  in  the  name  of  liberty  ?  Shall  we 
therefore  be  for  despotism  or  anarchy  ?  How  many  bat- 
tles have  been  fought  in  the  name  of  freedom. 

So  far  we  have  evidence  from  history.  'J'o  these  we 
may  add  the  predictions  in  the  Old  Testament  which  we 
will  cite  in  the  following  chapters.  The  ])redictions^ 
which  testify  to  Christ  are  probably  the  strongest  argu- 
ment for  the  Old  Testament.  For  if  its  predictions  are 
fulfilled  then   it  must  be  of  divine  origin. 

Now  after  having  historical  evidences  for  both  'i'esta- 
ments  there  is  no  further  necessity  for  writing  against 
the  so-called  rationalists.  They  only  assert  that  miracles^ 
never  happened  because  they  do  not  happen  now. 

It  is  perfectly  irrational  to  suppose,  with  Renan,  that 
Jesus  was  the  sublimest  being,  and  still  dreamer  enough 
to  claim  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  it  would  be  lunacy.  Re- 
nan's  system  is  a  contradiction  in  itself.  Those  who  try 
to  make  a  sort  of  political  demagogue  of  him  deserve  no 
consideration  ;  especially  since  they  are  sufficiently  re- 
futed by  other  rationalists.  We  have  also  seen  that  it  is 
against  history  to  suppose  that  he  never  claimed  to  be 
the  Son  of  God,  and  Dr.  Graetz  also  must  admit  that 
fact. 

Some  of  the  rationalists  take  Christ's  miracles  to  be 
legends  based  upon  facts,  something  similar  to  the  prin— 


204  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

ciple  I  used  to  follow  in  interpreting 'the  miracles  of  the 
Old  Testament.  Dr.  Strauss,  whom  rationalists  consider 
a  most  impregnable  tower  of  rationalism,  after  success- 
fully refuting  all  other  systems,  takes  the  miracles  to  be 
a  sort  of  tales,  inventions  of  Christ's  followers,  and  these 
tales  he  styles  myths,  without  being  able  to  find  a  real 
historical  or  allegorical  motive  for  them;  a  thing  which 
is  necessary  in  order  to  show  that  they  are  myths.  I 
have  already  said,  and  any  really  rational  reader  of  the 
Bible  will  find  it  so,  that  we  cannot  possibly  make  any- 
thing else  of  the  Bible  but  either  a  lie  or  history.  The 
miracles  of  both  Testaments  cannot  be  so  interpreted  as 
to  make  poetry  or  myths  of  them.  No  human  imagina- 
tion could  produce  such  fearful  legends  or  myths.  We 
only  want  to  read  .the  Bible  in  order  to  find  Strauss  re- 
futed. The  Bible  of  itself  refutes  reform  as  well  as  the 
so-called  rationalism.  The  great  Strauss  sometimes  even 
advances  ideas  which  would  be  too  simple  for  a  child, 
He  says,  for  instance,  it  was  invented  that  Christ  left  his 
parents  and  was  found  in  the  temple,  simply  because  the 
Emperor  Augustus  was  found  sleeping  on  the  top  of  a 
house  when  looked  for  once  in  his  childhood.  It  is  re- 
lated that  Christ  fed  the  multitudes  by  a  miracle,  because 
it  is  told  so  of  Moses.  Is  it  not  easier  to  believe  the 
miracles  than  these  notions  of  Strauss?  And  there  are 
a  great  number  of  such  beautiful  myths  to  be  found  in 
the  works  of  the  impregnable  tower  of  rationalism. 

According  to  any  of  the  rational  methods  the  Bible  is 
an  invention,  and  we  must  say,  if  an  invention,  it  is  also 
a  foolish  one  ;  and   still    these   foolish  lies  present  to  us 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  205 

such  a  perfect  beauty  as  the  character  of  Christ.  And 
the  world  believed  those  absurd  inventions.  And  these 
inventions  promulgated  the  most  lofty  morals  the  world 
ever  heard.  Shall  we  believe  Mr.  Strauss  because  he 
displays  rich  stores  of  knowledge  ?  Do  his  hypotheses, 
of  which  some  are  even  absurd,  receive  any  corrobora- 
tion because^he  tries  to  find  items  of  the  ancient  history 
and  literature  which  resemble  the  facts  related  in  the 
New  Testament?  x\s  we  have  seen  that  Christ's  claim 
and  his  miracles  must  be  historical  facts,  I  do  not  deem 
it  necessary  to  treat  upon  the  rational  methods  more  at 
length.  They  try  to  show  that  Christianity  is  the  natu- 
ral result  of  Judaism  and  Paganism,  and  we  must  see 
the  visible  hand  of  God  in  the  fact  that  it  prevailed 
in  spite  of  these  antagonistic  elements.  'They  say  it  was 
an  advance  upon  both,  but  if  a  lie  how  can  a  lie  cause 
an  advance  ? 

It  is  true  that  we  sometimes  find  ideas  and  tales  among 
the  Pagans  which  resemble  very  much  the  facts  and  the 
doctrines  of  both  Testaments.  Tha  Jews  knew  this,  and 
were  not  embarrassed  about  it.  They  were  not  only  not 
moved  to  doubt  their  Bible  on  this  account,  but  they 
even  considered  it  a  corroboration  of  its  truth.  It  is 
mentioned  in  their  literature,  and  can  also  be  proved  by 
that  of  the  Grecians,  that  some  of  the  ancient  Grecian 
sages  learned  from  the  Prophets.  The  Jews  have  tradi- 
tions that  Plato  or  Aristotle  learned  from  'the  Prophet 
Jeremiah.  This,  and  most  of  their  traditions  are  a  union 
of  truth  and  error.  They  are  especially  very  weak  in 
the  point  of  chronology.  Some  later  writers  show  that 
H 


2o6  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

Jeremiah  must  have  taught  Grecian  sages,  but  surely  not" 
Plato  or  Aristotle,  who  lived  considerable  later.  His- 
tory indicates  that  some  Hebrew,  at  least  Semitic, 
elements  were  planted  in  Greece  with  its  first  set- 
tlers. Who  can  ascertain  how 'much  of  divine  truth 
the  Phenecians  carried  into  the  world  through  their 
intimacy  with  the  Israelites  in  the  time  of  King 
Solomon  ?  The  rationalists  can  show  what  the  old  heathen 
believed,  but  not  where  they  got  their  ideas,  or  how 
the  truth  degenerated  with  them.  What  mankind  antici- 
pated by  feeling,  so  to  speak,  the  prophetic  spirit  in  man- 
kind may  also  have  been  the  cause  of  some  old 'myth, 
which  finally  was  found  to  point  to  the  truth.  That 
is  to  say,  that  some  myths  of  the  Pagans  may  even  con- 
tain Christian  truths  and  facts  because  it  was  a  kind  of 
prophetic  spirit  in  mankind  which  predicted  the  truth. 
The  religion  which  mankind  needed  was  felt  in  their 
hearts,  it  was  anticipated  by  feeling  what  they  needed. 
God  prepared  the  way  for  the  religion.  Many  proph- 
ecies were  introduced  and  enveloped  in  the  myths 
of  the  Pagans  ;  besides  that,  mankind  had  divine  truths 
from  their  common  ancestors  which  were  afterwards  cor- 
rupted and  mixed  up  with  their  idolatrous  belief.  Hence 
we  find  something  common  in  all  ancient  creeds,  and  also 
in  the  tales  of  their  histories.  Still,  the  Bible  is  pure 
and  true.  All  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Strauss,  and  all  his  rich 
knowledge,  is  not  sufficient,  even  to  show  that  w<?//y  things 
of  Scripture  really  resemble  the  Pagan  tales,  and  he 
forces  many  heterogenious  things  to  make  them  mu- 
tually  resemble.     After  all,  he  only  asserts  that  Christi- 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  207 

anity  is  the  result  of  Judaism,  Hellenism  and  Romanism, 
but  he  does  not  prove  it,  he  only  forces  himself  to  do  so. 
Nothing  alters  the  fact  that  Jesus  claimed  to  be  the 
Son  of  God  and  worked  miracles.  History  testifies  to 
this,  and  the  success  and  influence  of  the  claim  testify  to 
its  genuineness.  Can  the  fact  that  the  heathen  had  some 
myths  which  resemble  some  Christian  facts  alter  any- 
thing in  history  .? 

The  most  consistent  of  all  the  so-called  rationalists  is 
the  school  to  which  Robert  Taylor  belonged.  They 
teach  that  the  whole  Bible  contains  nothing  but  allego- 
ries, without  any  history.  They  do  not  try  to  manufac- 
ture history.  The  Patriarchs  and  the  Prophets,  David, 
all  the  Kings  and  Christ,  say  they,  never  existed  in  real- 
ity, but  represent  ideas  and  powers  of  nature,  like  the 
heroes  and  gods  of  the  mythologies  of  the  heathen.  This 
schoolmakes  no  distinction  between  common  fiction,  or 
mythology,  and  scripture.  I  wonder  where  the  Jews 
come  from,  then !  and  what  made  the  heathen  of  the 
first  century  mention  Christ  as  a  historical  person .? 
Still  this  school  has  the  preference  of  the  others  as  it  is 
at  least  radical  and  logical  in  its  madness.  I  love  logic. 
Robert  Taylor  caused  some  excitement  in  England,  andi 
was  considered  original.  But  his  ideas  are  very  old. 
In  the  middle  ages  some  Jewish  preachers  in  France  ad- 
vanced similar  doctrines,  to  the  excitement  and  indigna- 
tion of  the  Rabbis,  who  very  promptly  suppressed  the 
movement.  And  these  preachers  were  not  even  original. 
There  were  also  adherents  of  this  school  to  be  found  in 
the  Vatican.     The  method  of  Mr.  Strauss  is  in  some  re- 


208  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

spects  an  effort  to  reconcile  these  doctrines  with  history. 

I  must  remark  again  that  each  of  the  above  mentioned 
rational  methods  is  directed  against  the  Old  as  well  as 
the  New  Testament.  From  the  stand-point  of  Judaism  no 
rational  system  can  be  used  against  Christianity.  Ac- 
cording to  rationalism,  the  world  must  give  up  the  Bible. 
They  deny  that  any  thing  ever  happened  through  super- 
natural causes.  Will  the  world  ever  give  up  the  Bible  ? 
Will  the  Jewish  nation  ever  give  up  the  Bible  entirely  ? 
And  what  is  the  practical  result  of  rationalism  ? 

The  fact  is  that  the  rationalists  labor  in  principle  un- 
der the  same  'difficulty  with  the  reformers.  We  have 
seen  that  some  Jews,  finding  no  effect,  no  aim  of  their 
religion  consequently  Rejected  all  belief;  but  still  being 
unable  to  find  any  reasonable  solution  for  the  problem  of 
the  marvelous  history  of  their  people,  fell  into  the  absurd 
inconsistency  called  reform.  They  claim  to  reconcile  the 
marvel  of  their  history,  the  marvelous  and  mysterious 
Holy  Spirit  of  Scripture  with  what  they  call  reason.  They 
seek  no  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  miracles  and  influ- 
ence of  Christianity,  for  they  simply  ignore  it.  They  see  in 
Christianity  nothing  but  foolishness,  they  would  not  even 
stop  to  think  of  the  possibility  of  its  being  true,  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  it  governs  the  civilized  world  and  has  the 
greatest  philosophers  as  its  banner-bearers,  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  it  advances  such  sublime  doctrines.  What- 
ever good  they  must  admit  as  springing  from  it  they  as- 
cribe to  what  they  call  the  spirit  of  Judaism  in  Chris- 
tianity, so  that  //le/r  Judaism  is  the  fountain  of  every- 
thing good.     They  are  blind    enough  not  to  see  that  the 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  209 

Jews  and  Judaism  were  always  abhorred  by  the  nations, 
and  that  the  Gentiles  never  accepted  anything  from  the 
Jewish  doctrine  but  what  is  in  connection  with  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ.  The  rationalists, though, know  how  to  distin- 
guish the  spirit  of  Christianity  and  its  influence  from  the 
post-biblical  Judaism,  as  two  extremes.  They  find  the 
post-biblical  Judaism  a  burning  fire,  which  gives  neither 
light  nor  warmth,  while  they  are  amazed  by  the  beauty 
and  the  healing  power  of  the  rays  which  radiate  from 
Christ.  They  do  not  ignore  the  influence  and  the 
marvels  of  Christianity.  They  admire,  adore  and 
exalt  the  sublime  characters  and  doctrines  of  Christ 
and  his  followers.  I  have  cited  above  three  differ- 
ent kinds  of  evidence;  the  first  is  furnished  by  the 
Jewish  nation^  the  second  by  the  characters  of  Christ 
and  his  Apostles,  the  third  by  the  church  itself.  Ra- 
tionalists do  not  consider  the  first,  but  the  two  last ; 
not  willing  to  believe,  they  find  psychological,  and  his- 
toric-philosophical problems,  for  which  they  must  try 
to  find  a  reasonable  solution.  The  church  is  a  fact; 
what  caused  it }  They  are  not  possessed  by  the  blind- 
ness of  my  people,  to  say  it  was  a  lie,  foolishness.  They 
would  not  see  its  holiness,  but  they  must  admit  its  sub- 
lime ideas.  They  can  reject  the  religion  and  go  after 
reason  only,  but  its  existence  causes  an  obstacle  in  their 
way,  history  compels  them  to  recognize  it  as  a  some- 
thing. They  are  embarrassed  about  what  to  make  of 
Christ,  his  followers  and  church.  The  religion  exists 
and  its  origin  is  the  divine  power  of  God,  something 
supernatural :  this  they  do  not  believe,  and  must  seek  to 


2IO  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

find  the  origin  of  Christianity  in  the  liuman  nature. 
They  try  to  reduce  the  power  of  God  to  a  common  his- 
torical phenomenon.  History  relates  miracles,  so  they 
must  make  a  history  of  their  own.  It  tells  of  a  super- 
natural Jesus,  and  they  try  to  create  a  Jesus  of  their 
own.  Everything  must  have  its  natural,  comprehensible 
cause,  and  if  it  has  not,  they  make  it,  in  order  to  recon- 
cile history  with  rationalism.  History  furnishes  the  ev- 
idences I  have  cited,  and  they  try  to  avoid  them.  The 
consequence  is,  that  the  rationalists  must  come  in  con- 
flict with  history,  and  with  themselves,  as  the  Reformers, 
in  spite  of  all  their  knowledge  and  studies.  They 
must  make  hypotheses  which  never  can  replace  these 
facts  which  they  refuse  to  believe. 

They  try  to  make  of  the  Bible  a  something  which  is 
neither  a  lie  nor  the  truth,  and  make  a  monster  of  it. 
At  first  they  do  not  succeed,  for  their  analogy  is  often  so 
very  far-fetched,  their  attempts  to  make  poetry  of  some 
biblical  narration  are  so  forced,  that  they  even  some- 
times become  absurd,  as  I  have  shown  in  instances 
cited  above.  They  cannot  even  find  enough  of  apparently 
reasonable  hypotheses  to  justify  the  presumption  that  the 
Bible  could  be  anything  but  either  a  lie  or  a  divine  truth. 
But  supposing  they  could  show  that  there  are  reasonable 
motives  for  the  miracles  when  represented  as  products  of 
the  imagination,  even  then,  Christ  and  his  Apostles  would 
be  liars,  for  they  did  not  relate  their  stories  in  such  a 
manner  that  we  could  suppose  that  they  meant  to  promul- 
gate their  doctrines  in  the  dress  of  their  fables,  but  they 
.    made  the  facts  which  they   related  as  the  main   point. 


OR,    JUDAISM     AND    CHRISTIANITY.  211    - 

Paul,  for  instance,  speaks  too  plainly,  too  prosaically,  and 
asserts  that  he  saw  Jesus  himself,  therefore  he  must  have 
been  a  liar,  with  all  his  poetry.  Consequently,  there  is  no 
solution  of  the  problem  of  the  exi  ;.mce  of  the  church 
and  its  influence.  They  still  have  lO  ascribe  the  marvel 
of  the  existence  of  the  church  and  its  sublime  doctrines 
and  influence  to  the  work  of  a  lie.  It  is  still  unreason- 
able to  believe  that  the  Gentiles  could  believe  a  lie  and 
become  martyrs  for  it.  The  rationalists  are  just  as 
inconsistent  as  the  Reformers,  for  their  system  does  not 
remove  the  salient  difliculties  which  caused  them  to  write 
a  ''Life  of  Jesus,"  the  product  of  their  imagination;  the 
Jesus  and  the  Apostles  whom  they  created. can  not  have 
been  the  authors  of  the  miracles  in  history,  any  more  than 
a  Jesus  and  Apostles  who  were  liars  according  to  the  Jews. 
If  all  the  assertions  of  the  rationalists  were  •  true,  and 
there  was  no  supernatural  interference  of  God  in  history, 
even  then,  the  problems  of  history  remain  problems. 
For  if  there  is  nothing  supernatural,  why  does  the  Jew- 
ish nation  live.''  Why  did  Christianity  find  martyrs  so 
soon  after  its  origination  ?  Why  does  a  lie  conquer  the 
world  and  prove  to  be  such  a  blessing  ?  Their  Jesus  re- 
mains a  contradiction  in  himself.  Besides  this,  the  ra- 
tionalists could  never  claim  to  answer  the  problem  of  the 
Jewish  history  and  its  testimony  to  Christ.  For  they 
never  brought  this  into  consideration.  Thus  the  reform 
and  rationalism  are  alike  faulty  in  motive,  and  show  the 
same  result.  Their  motive  is  unbelief,  which  causes  the 
problems,  and  the  result  is  that  they  can  find  no  solution. 
History  cannot  be  understood    when  the  most  important 


212  -;,        MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

link  in  the  chain  of  its  events,  namely  the  supernatural 
divine  interference,  is  not  accepted.  The  problems  ex- 
ist not  for  the  believer  in  true  history,  and  reformers  and 
rationalists  have  simply  the  history  they  make  for  them- 
selves. Unbelief  is  not  the  result  of  rationalism,  but  ra- 
tionalism is  the  result  of  unbelief.  Messrs.  Renan  and 
Strauss  did  not  come  to  their  unbelief  on  account  of 
their  studies,  but  they  prosecuted  these  studies  because 
they  did  not  believe.  The  same  thing  is  the  case  with 
philosophers  and  naturalists  who  advance  the  lowest 
materialism.  The  knowledge  of  nature  does  not  lead  ta 
deny  God  any  more  than  that  of  history  to  deny  his  su- 
pernatural revelations.  The  more  we  learn  of  nature  the 
more  we  are  able  to  realize  our  weakness,  blindness  and 
impotence,  and  to  see  that  there  is  a  great  God  who  sur- 
rounds us  by  his  wisdom.  We  can  easily  discover  that 
there  is  a  something  which  we  must  believe,  for  we  can- 
not understand  eyerything.  Is  there  nothing  hid  from 
the  eye  of  these  naturalists  who  preach  the  lowest  mate- 
rialism and  ridicule  everything  ideal,  especially  religion  ? 
Is  there  no  problem  for  them  ?  And  if  they  run  the 
great  machinery  of  the  universe  without  a  God,  and  claim 
to  have  no  soul,  but  a  phosphorus  in  the  blood,  who  man- 
ages history  for  them  ?  Even  if  history  has  laws  which 
guide  the  evolutions,  still  how  are  the  different  occurren- 
ces picked  up  and  combined  for  the  general  law,  with- 
out a  free  will  to  manage.''  The  spinning  machine  spins 
alone,  but  an  intelligent  manager  must  purchase  the  ma- 
terials. Certainly,  the  great  naturalists  do  not  look  at 
such  a  thing  as   the   history    of   the    Jews.       All  human. 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  213 

knowledge  and  wisdom  are  not  sufficient  to  understand 
the  most  conspicuous  marvels  in  nature  or  history,  still 
less  will  human  wisdom  be  able  to  satisfy  heart  and  soul^ 
in  order  to  make  mankind  happy.  Science  does  not 
only  not  interfere  with  religion  but  it  assists  it.  Hap- 
piness of  the  heart  and  freedom  of  the  soul  can  only  be 
given  by  God.  He  makes  us  free  and  happy  by  his  su- 
pernatural way,  for  our  nature  is  corrupted.  To  God 
alone  we  must  look  for  happiness,  life,  and  hope,  and 
joy,  and  light,  and  truth.  Believe,  trust  Him,  lean  on 
Him  only. 

As  I  said,  knowledge  is  not  the  cause  of  unbelief,  the 
real  cause  is  a  misiinderstajuiifig  of  the  belief.  All  the  evi- 
dences of  history  will  fail  to  convert  to  Christianity,  for 
they  only  convince  the  viind,  and  religion  must  be  ex- 
perienced in  the  heart.  The  evidences  which  convince 
the  mind  are  only  witnesses  for  the  Christian  that  his  re- 
ligion is  true,  but  they  tell  not  what  it  really  is,  and  a 
man  must  perceive  this  before  he  can  believe.  Reason 
fails  to  convert  because  if  one  believes,  even  with  his 
mind,  he  is  not  a  Christian  yet,  and  does  not  even  know 
what  Christianity  means.  The  belief  of  the  mind  is  not 
religion. 

Those  Jews  who  were  not  drawn  to  God  by  a  love  to 
the  person  of  Christ,  whose  hearts  were  not  touched, 
could  not  believe  in  him.  The  passages  in  scripture 
and  the  miracles  could  not  convince  them  ;  for  the  first 
they  perverted,  and  the  latter  they  ascribed  to  the  power 
of  the  devil.  So  to-day,  those  whose  hearts  are  not 
touched    by  Christ's    spirit    find  belief  impossible;  the 


214  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

most  irrefutable  evidence  of  history  can  not  convince 
them,  and  they  pervert  history  by  hypothesis  as  the  Jews 
do  the  Bible.  As  some  Jews  left  Judaism  because  they 
saw  no  effect  from  the  religion  of  the  mind,  so  some 
Gentiles  leave  Christianity  since  they  only  know  the 
mind's  belief,  which  leads  them  to  misunderstand  Chris- 
tianity. They  never  knew  its  effect  upon  the  heart.  The 
belief  of  the  mind  is  an  objective  one,  the  one  of  the 
heart  is  subjective.  Or  in  other  words  believing  that 
there  is  a  God  is  not  religion.  He  must  be  felt  in  the 
heart. 

If  Christianity,simply  required  belief  of  the  mind,  sure- 
ly the  promise  of  atonement  through  the  belief  would 
not  only  be  an  absurdity,  but  even  an  atrocious  wrong, 
undermining  every  law  of  morality.  We  would  have 
to  consider  a  great  number  of  drunkards  and  criminals 
as  belonging  to  the  Christian  church.  We  could  hardly 
■say  any  one  w^as  a  hypocrite,  for  many  of  those  who  de- 
vour widow's  houses,  many  who  are  humble  do-nothings 
on  Sunday  and  ''  shrewed "  the  other  six  days,  many 
who  have  no  other  object  of  life  but  to  gather  treasures 
•of  gold,  are  at  the  same  time  believers  in  their  minds. 
For  a  man  can  believe  that  there  is  a  God  without  this 
belief  affecting  his  heart.  But  such  a  belief  is  not  the 
•Christianity  which  the  New  Testament  teaches. 

If  the  belief  of  the  mind  would  make  a  Christian,  then 
the  man  with  little  brain  would  have  the  most  advantage, 
since  he  can  easily  believe  anything.  So  the  Jew  sup- 
poses, and  takes  therefore  every  converted  Jew,  who  was 
not  brought  up,  or  as   they    consider  blinded,  to  believe 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  215 

the  Christian  dogmas,  to  be  a  base  hypocrite.  Moreover, 
the  conceit  that  Judaism  is  entirely  according  to  reason, 
is  common  among  the  Jews,  while  Christians  do  not  even 
claim  that  their  religion  can  be  comprehenc.d  by  rea- 
son. But  it  cannot  be  the  weak  mind  that  enables  us  to 
believe,  since  religion  conquered  the  civilized  world,  and 
we  find  men  like  Descartes,  Leibnitz,  Kepler,  Bacon,  the 
pride  of  England,  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  Schelling,  and  a 
great  many  of  the  greatest  philosophers  among  the  ban- 
ner-bearers of  Christianity.  We  also  find  that  the  Chris- 
tians erected  universities,  and  cultivated  sciences,  while 
orthodox  Judaism  persecuted  every  student  of  science 
and  studied  nothing  but  the  Talmund.  They  even  per- 
secuted Maimonides.  The  blind  belief  of  the  mind  in- 
stinctively fears  every  scientific  investigation.  It  is  there- 
fore obvious  that  it  cannot  be  the  weak  mind,  but  a  cer- 
tain spirit  which  causes  belief. 

There  are  two  ways  of  reading  the  New  Testament; 
one  with  the  mind,  the  other  with  the  heart.  The  mind 
reads  the  histories  of  the  miracles,  the  things  which 
have  Jiappcned\  the  heart  reads  the  spirit,  the  things 
that  are  and  ever  shall  be.  The  Jesus  who  lived  more 
than  eighteen  centuries  ago,  who  must  bring  his  creden- 
tials from  history,w^ho  was  crucified, who  meets  with  opposi- 
tion, is  the  Jesus  in  whom  some  minds  believe  and  some 
not.  But  the  Jesus  of  the  heart  lives,  and  is  seen  and 
felt.  If  one  once  sees  him  he  believes  in  him.  This 
Jesus  never  finds  any  opposition.  These  multitudes  gath- 
ered from  the  different  parts  of  the  globe,  from  many 
nations  and  tongues;  behold  these  multitudes  of  Gentiles 


2l6  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

with  folded  hands,  with  hearts  melting  before  the  living 
God  of  Israel,  and  crying  "  Hossanah.  Son  of  David;'' 
they  did  not  read  the  New  Testament  with  their  minds, 
but  with  their  hearts.  They  know  the  Jesus  of  the  heart. 
They  did  not  become  convinced,  but  overpowered,  sub- 
dued by  the  love  of  God.  They  were  not  persuaded  by 
ideas,  but  conquered ;  conquered  not  to  slavery,  but  to 
freedom,  not  to  work,  but  to  love  ;  conquered  to  love,  by 
love.  Jesus  did  not  reason  with  Mary  Magdalene.  She 
only  loved  him,  and  therefore  loved  God.  A  religion 
which  is  acquired  by  love  is  the  religion  of  the  heart, 
the  mind  does  not  love.  From  the  multitudes  who  fol- 
lowed him  in  Palestine  to  those  who  look  up  to  him  now, 
all  have  been  converted  to  God  by  a  love  to  his  person. 
They  believe  him  because  they  are  brought  to  God  in 
loving  him.  Atheists  even  admire  Jesus'  virtues,  his  un- 
paralleled greatness  in  humility,  highness  when  despised, 
majesty  when  condemned,  and  love  when  wounded. 
They  admire  his  virtues,  not  him.  The  love  of  the  ab- 
stract virtue  is  not  a  real  love,  a  love  that  draws  to  the  ob- 
ject ;  we  love  to  be  virtuous  without  a  religion,  else  we 
would  never  have  the  pangs  of  conscience  which  made 
us  look  for  a  religion.  We  knew  that  we  ought  to  be  vir- 
tuous before,  and  as  I  said,  we  only  want  a  religion  be- 
cause we  are  not  such  as  we  ought  to  be.  As  I  remarked 
in  the  first  note  of  this  chapter,  we  must  be  brought 
to  the  standard  by  the  religion.  Therefore,  I  have  no 
benefit  from  admiring  abstract  virtue,  this  does  not  turn 
me  to  God.  But  the  love  to  hi?) person  converts.  The 
flame  of  holiness  which  flashes  from  his  person  envelopes 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  217 

his  followers,  and  makes  them  "sanctified  to  the  Lord." 
His  virtues  abstracted  are  not  new  tons;  the  law  teaches 
virtue  :  but  the  virtues  personified  in  Christ  bring  nearer 
to  the  standard  of  the  law.  Therefore  we  see  that  even 
atheists  may  admire  his  virtues,  but  only  those  who  love 
him  are  converted  to  God.  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  not  because 
he  had  amiable  virtues,  but  because  he  was  virtue  itself; 
not  because  he  taught  good  principles,  but  because  he 
is  the  principle  of  everything  which  is  good.  This  we 
see  in  the  fact  that  those  who  accept  his  person,  not  his 
doctrines  only,  are  turned  to  God,  while  admirers  of  his 
doctrines  may  at  the  same  time  be  atheists.  In  him  we 
are  enabled  to  love  God.  It  is  the  fact  that  the  world 
vanishes  in  his  love,  and  God  becomes  our  only  consola- 
tion, which  testifies  to  his  genuineness.  Therefore  I  said 
that  the  most  irrefutable  evidence  against  all  opposition 
is  the  experience  of  the  heart.  No  one  can  deny  that 
through  Christ  many  turned  to  the  God  of  Israel,  and 
not  through  his  doctrines,  but  through  him.  All  the 
aim,  the  being  of  the  person  of  Jesus,  is  the  turning  of 
men  to  God. 

This  is  the  most  remarkable  feature  in  Christ's  life, 
that  he  converted  men  to  God  by  imbuing  them  with  a 
love  to  his  person,  that  love  is  his  instrument.  The  con- 
sequence is  that  he  enables  to  be  good,  gives  strength  to 
the  will  and  inclines  the  heart  toward  the  things  of  the 
Spirit  more  than  any  doctrine  or  law  could  do.  For 
in  accepting  the  majesty  which  radiates  from  a  cross, 
in  making  the  poor  and  humble  my  King,  and  hu- 
mility   and    simplicity     my  model,    and    above    all    in 


2l8  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

lovini^  everything  good  embodied  in  his  person,  my 
heart  becomes  changed,  I  find  a  remedy  against  deprav- 
ity. (  The  fact  is  that  there  is  a  supernatural  power  ivhich 
changes  the  heart,  and  improves  the  7nan,  but  I  only  speak 
of  Christ's  work  accordi?ig  to  what  ive  perceive).  I  was 
weak  before  because  my  heart  was  inclined  to  the  things 
perishable.  I  loved  them,  while  I  knew  that  I  ought  to 
love  the  things  eternal.  I  was  depraved;  now,  the  rem- 
edy is  love.  \xi  loving  Christ  I  realize  in  my  heart  more 
of  the  misery  of  the  world.  I  must  necessarily  despise 
the  world  more  since  I  love  self-denial  itself.  I  am  better 
enabled  to  be  virtuous  because  the  virtue  is  personified 
in  his  person.*  His  love  has  a  practical  result.  My 
will  is  changed,  because  I  find  more  satisfaction  in  the 
spiritual  things.  Because  I  look  for  consolation  where 
Christ  looked  for  it.  Because  if  I  really  love  him  I  can- 
not act  willfully  against  him,  and  it  gives  me  satisfaction 
and  joy  to  act  according  to  his  will. 

It  is  therefore  erroneous  to  think  that  Christ  teaches 
resignation  of  the  world,  to  chastise  one's  self  without 
necessity.  A  man  can  chastise  himself  and  be  very  far 
from  God.     But  Christ  imbues   the  heart  with  a  love  to 


*  This  change  of  will  is  not  a  phrase,  it  ciots  not  exist  in  theory  only,  but  in  fact. 
Many  have  labored  and  sighed  under  the  burden  of  vices,  were  overpowered  by  bad 
appetites  which  they  could  not  resist,  but  were  freed  from  their  vices  as  soon  as  they 
were  converted  to  Christ  by  a  real  love  to  his  name.  I  testify  before  God  and  men 
that  I  have  labored  twenty  years  under  vices  which  I  could  not  resist,  and  became 
free  the  very  day  I  felt  that  Christ  must  be  true.  I  received  a  fresh  power.  I  could 
easily  resist  what  I  could  not  before,  though  with  the  strongest  efforts  of  my  will.  I 
experienced  such  a  change  in  my  will  that  reason  cannot  possibly  account  for  it.  I 
felt  free  of  my  hardest  oppressor.  In  a  very  short  time  I  even  felt  free. of  the  tempta- 
tions. All  through  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ.  Thanks  and  glory  to  the  name  of 
the  Lord  ! 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  219 

God,  SO  that  he  becomes  our  aim  of  life.  He  therefore 
enables  us  to  resign  the  will  to  God.  The  resignation  is 
only  the  resignation  of  the  will.  When  the  will  is  re- 
signed there  is  rest  and  peace  in  every  state  and  circum- 
stance of  life.  One  may  enjoy  the  allotments  of  Provi- 
dence when  the  enjoyed  object  is  not  the  aim  of  his  life, 
when  his  heart,  his  will,  clings  not  to  the  perishable  but 
to  the  divine  things.  Sin  is  not  objective  but  subjective  ; 
it  lies  not  in  the  act  or  the  object,  but  in  the  subject. 
One  may  sin  by  a  certain  deed  while  under  other  cir- 
cumstances the  same  deed  would  be  no  sin.  Sin  is  in 
the  will.  For  instance,  love  of  money  is  a  low  sin 
which  makes  the  man  more  foolish  than  the  animal,  but 
the  sin  lies  not  in  the  money  but  in  the  love.  It  is  even 
a  duty,  a  necessity  to  work  for  money,  and  so  it  is  with 
everything ;  if  my  will  aspires  upwards  and  is  subjected 
to  God  I  elevate  the  enjoyed  thing  to  me,  and  when  I 
have  no  other  object  in  life,  but  in  the  enjoyments  of  this 
world  I  make  myself  low  with  the  thing  I  enjoy.  In 
short,  in  loving  Christ  we  enter  his  spirit  and  we  feel  a 
love  and  a  thirsting  for  God  as  expressed  by  King  Da- 
vid, God  becomes  all  in  all,  our  ^im  and  motive,  and 
we  are  enabled  to  will  and  to  do,  as  we  are  prompted 
by  the  love  of  God.  God  himself  becomes  an  en- 
joyment. I  only  state  a  fact,  not  an  argument,  and 
millions  of  true  Christians  can  testify  to  it.  A  love  of 
(lod  like  that  of  King  David,  is  the  consequence  of  be- 
lieving in  Christ.  This  is  an  experience  of  the  heart, 
and  one  need  only  take  the  testimony  of  millions  of 
Christians  in  order  to  believe  it. 


220  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

From  this  fact  we  have  a  logical  proof  that  Christ  has 
a  divine  character.  For  since  we  find  that  Christ  con- 
verts by  love  to  his  person,  therefore  he  is  a  remedy 
against  our  depravity.  For  our  depravity  is  only  that 
we  are  not  converted  to  God.  Now,  he  is  the  one 
who  converts,  and  if  he  is  that  he  is  our  religion, 
which  must  be  given  by  God.  For  if  man  could  make 
the  religion  himself  then  he  would  not  be  depraved,  the 
doctrine  of  the  depravity  includes  the  fact  that  man  can- 
not help  himself.  If  he  cannot  help  himself  naturally, 
then  only  God  can  help  supernaturally.  And  again  we 
find  that  Christ  is  the  help ;  then  he  is  the  supernatural 
help  of  God.  We  only  have  to  believe  what  the  jews 
do,  that  man  is  depraved,  and  therefore  God  reveals  him- 
self for  our  salvation,  and  then  we  see  the  fact  that  Christ 
converted  so  many  millions  to  the  God  of  Israel  through 
his  name  only,  and  we  find  the  conclusion  that  he  must 
be  supernatural. 

Again,  when  we  find  that  Christ  imbues  with  a  love 
to  the  things  divine,  and  changes  our  heart,  then  we  must 
conclude  that  the  law  is  abolished  in  his  love.  For  I 
only  needed  a  law  bepause  I  did  not  love.  Love  is  a  rad- 
ical cure  for  the  disease  against  which  the  law  is  intended. 
Love  elevates  the  nature  above  the  law.  The  law  is  not 
revoked,  it  exists.  The  Christian  only  does  not  need  it. 
As  the  honest  man  needs  no  law  not  to  steal,  his  honor 
forbiding  it,  so  one  whose  heart  is  moved  by  the  love  of 
God  needs  no  law  whatever.  The  law  was  necessary  to  be, 
.  before  Christ  in  order  to  teach  me  that  there  is  a  God  of 
Israel,  a  God  of  holiness  who  gives  me  means  for  my  sal 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  221 

vation.  How  could  I  believe  Christ  if  I  knew  nothing  of 
the  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  holiness,  and  that  he 
wants  me  to  do  his  will  ?  I  could  not  expect  that  the  God 
of  nature  and  history  would  send  a  supernatural  redemp- 
tion. What  would  I  see  in  Jesus  if  not  that  he  is  given  to 
the  holy  God  of  Israel  and  converts  to  him?  Everything 
in  the  Old  Testament  was  necessary  in  order  to  teach  me 
what  Jesus  ought  to  be,  to  point  to  him  in  the  law,  espe- 
cially in  the  sacrifices,  and  finally  to  predict  him. 
We  do  not  follow  Jesus  and  give  ourselves  to  him  be- 
cause multitudes  followed  him,  but  because  he  followed 
and  was  given  up  to  God.  We  do  not  believe  him  as  a 
founder  of  a  new  religion,  but  as  the  fulhller  of  the  old. 
And  I  would  not  have  known  this  God,  nor  could  I  have 
appreciated  Jesus  without  the  law.  How  could  we  un- 
derstand what  Jesus  is  without  the  Old  Testament .? 
The  law  was  the  way  to  Christ ;  when  I  reach  the 
aim  I  do  not  need  the  way  any  longer.  As  long  as 
one  believes  with  the  mind  only  he  needs  a  law,  but 
when  one  feels  God  through  Christ's  love  he  wants 
no  law.  Law  is  for  the  mind,  love  from  the  heart. 
Moses  drew  a  people  chosen  in  the  seed,  to  give 
them  the  freedom  of  this  world  only,  and  he  had  to  give 
them  a  law.  Christ  draws  his  people  chosen  in  the 
Spirit  from  all  the  corners  of  the  earth,  and  gives  them 
the  freedom  of  the  soul  to  follow  God  by  love.  The 
staff  and  miracles  of  Moses  were  visible  to  his  people 
near  and  around  him,  but  Christ's  love  is  enthroned  above 
the  sun  and  seen  all  over  the  world  by  every  broken- 
hearted man  who  turns  his  eye  towards  heaven.  Moses 
commanded  the  law  and  Christ  proclaims  freedom,because 

^5 


222  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

his  love  makes  the  law  superfluous  and  us  the  more 
free.  I  am  free  when  my  actions  are  prompted  by  my 
love,  but  a  slave  and  tempted  when  I  am  compelled  ta 
work  by  law. 

So  far  I  have  spoken  only  of  the  experience  of  the  Christ- 
ian heart  in  finding  a  love   of  God  and   strength  of  will 
through  Christ.     But  there  are  other  experiences  in  conse- 
quence of  the  belief  in  Christ.     As  I  said  before,  the  love 
of  God  makes  the  will  resigned  to  him  ;  this  causes  rest  and 
peace  of  heart  and  soul.     One  may  deny  it,  but  it  is  still 
true  that   men  have  no  inward  rest  without   Christ.     Be- 
sides this,    Christ    gives    consolation    and    hope.       The 
belief   in   Christ  gives  a  sure  hope  in  God  as  Christ  re- 
veals God  to  us  as  a  loving  friend,  and  his  name  and  suf- 
ferings are  a  consolation  in  our  sufferings.     Christ  min- 
isters to-day  as  much  as  he  did  when  he  walked  on  earth. 
He  still  heals  the  heart  which  is  wounded,  he  has  a  cool- 
ing balm  for  the  one  which  burns.     From  his  own  gaping 
wounds  springs  a  fountain  of  life  and  love.     When  your 
hard  fate  presses  tears  from  your  eyes,  he  bows  over  you 
to  wipe  them  away ;  when  your  face  burns  he  cools  it 
with  a  drop  from  his  own  eye  milder  than  the  dew  from 
heaven.     He  changes  tears  into  pearls,  the  expression  of 
sorrow  and  pain  into  a  smile  of  gladness.     The  face  of  a 
storm-beaten  sinner  he  transfigures  into  that  of  an  angel- 
like  infant,  laughing  in   his   dreams.     His    sorrow   and 
self-denial,  his    wounds   and    cross,  they  are  an  everlast- 
ing   source  of   consolation.       Many   noble   hearts    have 
beaten  on   earth,  but  there   is  only   rest  at  his   bosom. 
Leaning  on  him  all  sorrow   is  gone,  for  you   love  .... 
The   roaring  billows   of  this    raging   world    subside,  no 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  223 

Storm  roars,  the  soul  breathes.  He  closes  the  wounds  of 
the  heart,  he  raises  you  above  yourself,  you  weep  again 
and  the  tears  are  tears  of  love Only  Christ  ena- 
bles us  to  love  really  and  calmly.  Love  is  consolation,  and 
hope  and  life  and  manna,  and  every  thin. 2;;  but  you  must 
love  God. 

Another  consequence  of  the  belief  in  Christ  is  the  loss 
of  fear  of  death,  which  is  caused  by  our  depravity.  He 
quiets  conscience  and  his  love  casts  out  fear.  Love 
gives  confidence  in  God.  How  can  I  be  afraid  when 
I  believe  that  God  has  shown  us  so  much  love  ;  that  His 
Christ  is  the  greatest  sufferer.  The  belief  also 
gives  satisfaction.  This  yearning  without  an  aim,, 
of  which  I  spoke  in  the  chapter  on  depravity,  this; 
love  without  knowing  the  object,  without  finding 
satisfaction ;  this  longing  which  the  beauty  of  na-. 
ture  causes  in  our  breast ;  all  these  indescribable- 
emotions  of  the  soul  find  their  aim  and  satisfaction  m^ 
finding  Christ.  We  have  yearned  for  the  all,  for  the- 
omnipresent  divinity,  which  is  too  high,  unattainable  for- 
us  ;  in  Christ  it  is  connected  with  the  man,  and  we  can; 
reach  it.  The  divine  spirit  is,  so  to  speak,  concentrated'! 
so  that  we  can  embrace  it.  In  finding  Christ,  we  recog- 
nise the  object  for  w^hich  our  soul  yearned  in  vain;  we; 
find  that  we  did  not  know  what  we  wanted.  Every  human 
soul  yearns  and  longs  to  find  rest  in  his  love,  but  the  man 
knows  it  not.  In  Christ  we  find  a  satisfaction  which  has. 
no  end ;  it  is  the  death  of  the  flesh,  and  life  and  freedom 
of  the  imprisoned  soul.  The  flesh  causes  our  misery  as 
long  as  our  will  is  clinging  to  it;  in  Christ  the  will 
turns  to  God.     It  is  the  awakening  of  the  soul  which  was. 


224  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

slumbering  in  fetters.     Christ  awakens  the  consciousness 
of  man's  soul. 

In  short,  I  have  given  a  description  of  the  heart's  expe- 
riences which  are  caused  by  the  human  depravity,  (and 
no  man  who  is  honest  with  himself  can  dispute  the  cor- 
rectness of  my  description.)  Christianity  removes  all 
those  hard  experiences,  and  gives  joy  and  happiness  to 
heart  and  soul.  The  Christian  finds  living  water  for  his 
soul ;  he  finds  cooling  for  his  burning  heart.  What  the 
inner  man  needs  is  found  in  Christ.  Shall  we  bring  bet- 
ter proofs  than  this  ?  If  a  Christian  can  not  bring  the 
least  evidence  for  his  belief,  he  is  still  as  much  convinced 
of  it  as  he  is  of  the  fact  that  bread  satisfies  hunger,  with- 
out understanding  why.  One  who  has  tasted  the  love  of 
God  through  Christ  is  not  surprised  at  the  heroism  of  the 
early  martyrs ;  he  knows  that  there  is  a  sweetness  in  lov- 
ing God  which  enables  us  to  give  one's  life  for  it  with  de- 
light. Though  all  the  philosophers  in  the  world  rage, 
they  cannot  shake  a  man  who  has  tasted  Christianity. 
The  religion  of  the  heart  can  not  be  shaken  by  the  mind. 
Though  all  the  world  say  we  are  hypocrites  and  fools,  we 
feel  and  know  what  we  have.  We  know  that  we  are  de- 
praved, and  must  expect  the  consequences  in  a  future 
world,  but  in  Christ  we  find  God,  the  only  salvation. 
Just  as  one  man  could  convince  another  that  it  is  foolish 
to  drink  water  when  he  is  dry,  so  he  can  convince  a  Christ- 
ian of  the  error  of  the  Christian  religion.  The  unbeliever 
misunderstands  the  Christian  religion ;  it  is  a  something 
which  cannot  be  argued  ;  it  is  love,  and  love  asks  not  for 
reasons.  And  so  are  many  who  think  that  they  belong 
to  the  Christian  church,  and  have  nothing  but  the  belief 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  2  25 

of  the  mind.  The  belief  of  the  heart  is  seen  in  the  man's 
works.  Our  works  can  not  be  good  enough  to  justify  us 
before  God,  but  the  works  show  and  testify.  Some 
German  writer  has  rightly  said,  "  It  takes  more 
spirit   to    believe    than    understanding    to    disbelieve." 

The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  like  unto  a  magic  castle, 
from  whose  interior  come  forth  the  sweetest  strains  of 
seraphic  music  ;  streams  of  life  flow  from  its  midst ;  the 
most  fragrant  flowers  of  joy  grow  on  its  grounds;  ever- 
lasting peace  and  rest  are  found  in  its  rooms  ;  its  tower 
offers  a  safe  refuge  against  all  powers  destructive  to  real 
life ;  it  is  adorned  with  the  banner  of  love  ;  the  noblest 
flag  waves  from  its  top — the  flag  of  the  all-loving,  Al- 
mighty Jehovah,  the  God  of  Israel.  Many  pass  by  this 
castle  and  look  upon  it  with  contempt.  But  the  weary 
soul,  which  yearns  for  rest,  which  is  drawn  by  its  charms 
and  desires  to  place  itself  under  the  protection  of  the 
God  of  Israel,  finds  no  door.  Every  way  which  seems 
to  lead  to  the  castle  terminates  with  an  insurmountable 
obstacle.  There  is  only  one  magic  name  to  be  called — 
**  Jesus  Christ  " — and  the  doors  open.  It  is  not  reason- 
able, but  it  is  a  magic  castle,  and  as  soon  as  you  are  in 
you  cannot  be  moved  by  those  who  pass  by  and  look 
upon  you  and  the  castle  with  contempt.  There  is  a  pow- 
er in  this  name  which  defies  all  reason  ;  but  it  brings  into 
the  castle,  it  gives  the  love  of  God. 

The  less  reason  can  account  for  the  fact  that  Christ's 
love  leads  to  God,  the  more  proof  it  is  for  his  super- 
natural character.  There  is  God  with  him,  who  alone 
can  give  the  experience  of  safety  to  the  heart.     There  is 


226  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

a  supernatural  connection   between  the  believer's  heart 
and  God.* 

I  do  not  mean  to  enter  into  any  philosophical  discus- 
sion about  the  experiences  of  the  Christian  heart.  I 
simply  state  the  facts.  I  only  know  it  as  a  fact,  that  the 
believer  is  drawn  to  the  living  God ;  that  Jesus  is  a  prin- 
ciple with  him  which  guides  and  gives  power  to  be  good  ; 
that  the  heart  finds  peace  and  satisfaction  ;  therefore  1 
believe  in  him.  Miracles  are  occurrences  which  con- 
vince the  mind  of  God's  supernatural  interference,  be- 
cause they  happen  against  the  laws  of  nature  so  that  rea- 
son can  not  comprehend  them.  Could  the  miracles  be 
understood,  then  they  would  prove  nothing,  as  I  said 
above.  So  the  experiences  of  the  Christian  heart  are 
facts  which  are  not  according  to  psychology,  and  there- 
fore they  convince  the  heart  which  has  such  experiences. 
Every  worldly  joy  leaves  the  heart  burning  and  hollow, 
but  Christ  gives  satisfaction  and  the  fullness  of  God. 
When  men  are  tempted  to  sin,  they  will  find  it  harder  to 
resist  when  they  are  guided  by  the  moral  and  the  divine 
law  than  when  they  have  Jesus  as  a  principle  to 
guide  them,  and  look  for  no  law.  And  when  they  all 
resist,  it  is  a  hard  burden  for  the  man  who  has  a  legal 
measure  for  his  actions,  but  the  one  who  follows  Jesus  is 


*I  must  say  here  that,  besides  the  above  cited  experiences  of  the  heart,  there  is  a 
supernatural  experience  which  can  not  even  be  described.  The  baptism  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  not  a  phrase  but  a  fact.  It  is  surely  nothing  visible  or  perceptible  by 
the  senses,  but  still  many  have  experienced  such  an  inward  perception.  If  it  is  only 
an  experience  of  the  heart  it  still  convinces  of  the  existence  of  supernatural  things  ; 
it  was  so  the  case  with  me.  This,  my  assertion,  caused  some  to  pervert  my  words 
as  if  I  had  said  that  I  had  a  revelation  of  Christ  in  the  (lesh.  And  so  it  was  prompt- 
ly circulated  by  the  Jewish  press. 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  227 

prompted  b}^  love.  Here  we  see  that  Jesus  is  a  principle 
which  replaces  the  law,  and  does  even  more. 

Unbelievers  do  not  oppose  Christ's  doctrines,  but  his 
person.  They  may  deny  that  he  had  a  divine  character, 
but  they  cannot  dispute  that  there  are  men  for  whom  he 
is  a  principle;  whom  he  places  above  the  law;  whom  he 
gives  satisfaction  of  life;  whom  he  imbues  with  a  love  to 
God,  so  that  death  becomes  something  desirable,  as  the 
means  to  come  to  the  beloved.  Consequently  we  may 
ask,  how  could  a  man  become  a  principle,  a  religion,  a 
-satisfaction  of  the  heart,  a  moving  power  for  every  thing 
good,  the  end  of  all  hopes ;  how  can  he  become  all  that, 
except  God  be  with  him  ?  Since  we  see  that  he  is  a  me- 
diator between  God  and  man  in  pleading  the  cause  of 
God  before  men  with  such  a  matchless  success,  why 
shall  we  not  believe  that  he  also  pleads  the  cause  of  men 
before  God  ?  I  do  not  say  that  philosophy  can  ac- 
count for  it.  I  do  not  claim  to  be  able  to  defend  it 
philosophically.  I  even  believe  that  according  to 
reason  the  pantheists  are  right.  No  miracle  can  be 
defended  by  reason ;  but  still  the  Bible  is  true.  So 
the  Christian  experiences  have  no  reason,  and  therefore 
Christ  is  true.  If  he  was  not  true,  he  could  not  possibly 
work  such  miracles  in  the  heart.  He  is  true  because 
his  greatest  miracle  is  leading  human  hearts  to  God. 
This  miracle  I  see  at  this  day. 

In  conclusion,  we  find  that  every  one  who  sees  the  mir- 
acles of  the  heart  will  be  convinced  of  the  religion  of  the 
heart,  and  then  he  will  find  that  all  the  doctrines  of  the 
world  can  not  make  atonement  between  man  and  God, 
but  Christ   himself.     Even   Christ's  doctrines  are  of  no 


2  28  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

avail,  when  we  have  not  ////;/.  He  is  our  only  help  ac- 
cording to  the  Bible,  as  we  shall  find  in  the  next  chap- 
ter. All  those  who  misunderstand  his  religion  will  find 
problems  in  history.  They  try  to  show  how  Christianity 
originated,  in  order  to  remove  the  problems.  All  they 
show  is  only  how  it  ffiig/it  have  originated,  but  not  how  it 
did  originate.  If  one  knows  where  the  holiness  of  God 
originates,  he  may  also  claim  to  know  where  Christ's 
religion  originated.  For  true  Christianity  is  the  holiness 
of  God.  And  we  have  our  evidences  irrefutable  for 
mind  and  heart.  We  only  have  to  examine  now  whether 
that  which  we  find  in  Christ  is  according  to  the  Jewish 
Bible. 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  22^ 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
THE  MESSIAH  OF  THE  BIBLE. 

Hear  ye  this,  O  house  of  Jacob,  which  are  called  by  the  name  of  Israel,  and 
are  come  forth  out  of  the  waters  of  Judah,  which  swear  by  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
and  make  mention  of  the  God  of  Israel,  but  not  in  truth,  nor  in  righteousness.  Is. 
xlviii :  i. 

If  Israel's  Messiah  was  not  to  come  in  order  to  give 
worldly  glory  and  riches ;  if  we  consider  it  the  greatest 
riches  to  have  the  heart  turned  to  the  living  God  in  love  ; 
if  God  is  a  God  of  mankind,  and  the  Messiah  was  to 
bring  nations  to  God,  then  we  cannot  dispute  that  Jesus 
is  the  Messiah,  since  we  see  that  he  brought  many  na- 
tions to  the  God  of  Israel.  We  have  no  more  ground  to 
dispute  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah  than  we  have  to  say 
that  the  Emperor  William  is  not  the  Emperor  of  Ger- 
many while  he  actually  reigns. 

How  many  millions  of  people  believe  in  the  God  of 
Israel  through  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ !  How  many 
thousands  of  buildings  have  Gentiles  erected  and  dedi- 
cated to  the  service  of  the  God  of  Sinai,  because  they 
believe  in  Jesus  the  Christ !  Many  thousands  of  churches 
testify,  their  stones  cry,  and  say :  "  Jesus  is  the  Messiah." 
Those  heaven-pointing  church-spires  are  witnesses,  they 


230  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

speak  loud  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ.  If  we  believe  or 
reject  him,  we  still  see  that  he  is  the  Christ;  he  actually 
reigns.     The  civilized  world  is  called  by  his  name. 

It  is  only  left  to  us  to  examine  whether  and  how  the 
Bible  promised  a  Messiah,  whether  Christ's  reign  was 
promised  by  the  God  of  Israel.  I  shall  only  cite  the 
most  striking  passages. 

When  God  blessed  Abraham  he  said  : 

Gen.  xxii :    18.     "And  in   thy   seed   shall  all  the  nations 
be  blessed." 

Is  there  any  reason  to  say  that  the  nations  were  blessed 
in  Abraham's  seed,  if  not  in  Jesus  Christ  ?  Can  this  pre- 
diction, with  any  plausibility,  be  applied  to  any  man  in 
Israel  ?  You  say  the  Bible  is  the  blessing.  True,  but 
the  Bible  is  only  understood  by  the  nations  in  the  Christ- 
ian sense,  and  they  have  only  accepted  it  through  the 
name  of  Jesus  by  his  Apostles.  I  have  already  said  that 
the  Gentiles  did  not  receive  the  Bible  from  the  hand  of 
any  Jew  unless  he  was  a  follower  of  Christ. 

Also  "Noah's  blessing  to  Japhet. 

Gen.  xl ;  27:     "God  shall  enlarge  Japhet   and  he   shall 
dwell  in  the  tents  of  Shem," 

can  only  be  considered  as  fulfilled  in  Christianity,  which 

Japhet's  children  received  from  those  of  Shem. 


Jacob  in  predicting  to  his  sons  what  shall   befall  them 
in  the  last  days  says  : 

Gen.  xlix  :  x:  "The  scepter  shall  not  depart  from  Ju- 
dah,  nor  a  lawgiver  from  between  his  feet,  until 
Shiloh  come;  and  unto  him  shall  the  gathering  of 
the  people  be." 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  23I 

The  Jews  never  doubted  that  Shiloh  means  the  Mes- 
siah. Both  Thargums  and  all  the  rabbinical  literature 
agree  to  this.  They  never  thought  of  any  other  inter- 
pretation. Now  we  see  that  Judah  existed  as  a  state 
with  a  government  of  its  own,  until  Christ  came,  and 
soon  after  the  crucifixion  Jerusalem  was  destroyed.  If 
Jesus  is  not  the  Christ,  then  this  prophecy  is  not  fulfilled. 
Centuries  after  Christ  some  Jewish  interpreters,  seeing 
that  this  passage  is  an  irrefutable  evidence  for  Christ, 
maintained  that  Shiloh  means  not  the  Messiah.  Aben  Ezra 
says  that  the  prediction,  that  the  scepter  shall  not 
depart  from  Judah  until  Shiloh  come,  is  fulfilled  in 
the  fact  that  after  the  death  of  Joshua  the  tribe  of  Ju- 
dah was  going  at  the  head  of  the  army  in  the  war,  (ac- 
cording to  Judg.  i.)  until  David  came,  when  the  holy  ark 
was  removed  from  the  place  Shiloh.  I  need  not  show 
how  Aben  Ezra  tortures  the  language  of  this  verse.  I  leave 
it  to  any  honest  Hebrew  scholar  to  say  whether  Aben 
Ezra's  interpretation  has  the  least  plausibility.  Rash- 
bam  also  perceiving  the  consequences  of  this  verse,  says 
that  "until  Shiloh  come"  alludes  to  King  Rehoboam's 
coming  to  Shechem,  where  the  tribes  refused  him  obedi- 
ence, and  means  "until  the  King  of  Judah  will  come  to 
Shiloh."  But  Rehoboam  did  only  come  to  Shechem, 
not  to  Shiloh,  therefore  Rashbam  thinks  that  Jacob 
called  Schechem  Shiloh  because  the  two  places  were  not 
a  great  distance  apart.  Thus,  Jacob  predicted  that 
nations  will  bow  in  humility  before  David  and  Solomon 
until  Rehoboam  will  come  to  Schechem,  which  may  also 
be  called  Shiloh,  as  it  is  not  very  far  from  it.  This  inter- 
pretation speaks  for  itself;   there  is  surely  no  necessity  to 


232  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

waste  one  word  in  refuting  it.  The  fact  is,  that  any 
iinbiassed  Hebrew  scholar  sees  very  plainly  that  "  Shi- 
loh  "  is  a  person,  for  it  says  afterwards,  "and  to  him 
shall  the  gathering  of  the  people  be."  The  prophecy  is 
not  fulfilled  with  David  or  Solomon,  for  it  is  predicted 
that  "the  scepter  and  law-giver  shall  not  depart,"  and 
Judah  had  its  government  until  Christ.  The  fact  that 
excellent  Hebraists,  like  Rashbam  and  Aben  Ezra,  could 
force  themselves  so  much  as  to  give  such  absurd  inter- 
pretations proves  how  strong  an  evidence  for  Christ  the 
plain  interpretation  is,  and  that  it  is  impossible  to  trans- 
late "  Shiloh  "  as  anything  but  a  person,  else  the  above 
commentators  would  have  found  an  interpretation  not  so 
queer.  The  Middrash,  also  perceiving  that  there  is  a  diffi- 
culty for  the  Jews,  says  that  scepter  and  law-giver  allude 
to  the  Patriarchs  "iV^.w/w,"  who  existed  in  Palestine 
after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  (and  were  descend- 
ants of  Hilel,  for  whose  mother  the  descent  from  David  is 
claimed,)  and  to  the  Heads  of  the  exile,  ''Rosh  Galutha'' 
in  Babylon,  as  these  were  a  kind  of  clerical  heads  of 
Israel.  Besides  that  these  Patriarchs  and  Heads  of  exile 
never  had  any  scepter  or  legislative  power,  they  could 
not  have  been  meant,  since  they  lasted  but  a  compara- 
tively short  time.  Who  is  the  Shiloh  then  ^  He  did  not 
come  after  them.  Now,  the  Rabbis  supposed  that  the 
scepter  did  not  depart  from  Judah,  but  remained  with 
him  until  Shiloh  shall  come,  since  there  were  Patriarchs, 
and  Heads  of  exile.  What  could  these  Rabbis  answer 
now,  since  these  do  not  exist  and  their  expected  Shiloh 
did  not  come  }  Are  the  predictions  of  Jacob  not  fulfilled  I 
If  the  Rabbis  had  not  known  for  certain  that  this  Shiloh. 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  233 

means  the  Messiah,  they  would  not  have  found  consolation 
in  the  Patriarchs  and  Heads  of  exile.  Well  knowing  what 
a  proof  it  is  for  Christ,  they  would  have  denied  that  it 
alludes  to  the  Messiah.  They  could  not,  for  it  was  a 
living  truth  known  to  all  Israel.  All  efforts  to  give  a 
different  interpretation  fail,  for  the  simple  meaning  of  the 
passage  says  that  "Shiloh  "  is  a  person  and  not  a  place. 
The  language  compels  to  this  interpretation.  And  the  Jew- 
ish nation,  who  preserved  the  Hebrew  language  with  the 
Bible,  knew  that  this  person  Shiloh  means  the  Messiah,  to 
whom  the  nations  shall  gather.  And  this  we  see  fulfilled  in 
Christ,  while  we  also  find  that  the  scepter  and  the  law- 
giver have  departed  from  Judah  since  Shiloh— Christ 
came.  The  Christian  interpretation  is  so  obviously  cor- 
rect that  this  verse  alone  ought  to  be  a  sufficient  biblical 
evidence  for  Christ.  Rationalists  must  necessarily  main- 
tain that  this  prophecy  was  fulfilled  in  David  or  Solomon, 
and  that  Shiloh  means  a  place.  But  this  cannot  satisfy  them 
since  it  would  still  be  a  prophecy  which  is  fulfilled,  and 
they  do  not  believe  in  any  prophecy.  They  say,  there- 
fore, that  Jacob's  predictions  are  altogether  a  poem, 
written  in  Solomon's  time  and  put  in  the  mouth  of  Jacob. 
According  to  this  the  Bible  is  an  imposition.  This  is 
surely  not  a  Jewish  platform,  but  still  there  are  men 
teaching  such  doctrines  and  still  occupying  a  rabbinical 
chair,  and  who  claim  that  Israel  was  chosen,  and  a  bless- 
ing to  the  nations,  because  the  world  received  the  Bible 
from  Israel.     What  a  blessing  such  a  Bible  would  be! 


When  the  Prophet  Ahijah    predicted  to  Jeroboam  that 


234  '  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

on    account    of  Solomon's  sins  the  kingdom  of  the  ten 
tribes  should  be  taken  from  David's    seed,  he  said  : 

I  Kings,  xl,  39  :     "  And  I  will  for  this  afflict   the  seed  of 
David,  ^ut  ?iot forever.'" 

If  Christ  is  not  the  King,  then  David's  seed  is  afflicted 

forever. 


Is.  xlii :  "  Behold  my  servant  whom  I  uphold,  mine 
elect  in  whom  my  soul  delighteth,  I  have  put  my 
spirit  upon  him  and  he  shall  bring  judgm.ent  to- 
the  gentiles.  He  shall  not  cry  nor  lift  up,  nor  cause 
his  voice  to  be  heard  in  the  street.  A  bruised 
reed  shall  he  not  break,  and  the  smoking  flax  shall 
he  not  quench  he  shall  bring  forth  judgment  unto 
truth.  He  shall  not  fail  nor  be  discouraged  till 
he  have  set  judgment  in  the  earth.  And  the  isles 
shall  wait  for  his  teaching.  Thus  saith  God  the 
Lord,  he  that  created  the  heavens  and  stretched 
them  out,  he  that  spread  forth  the  earth  and  that 
which  Cometh  out  of  it,  he  that  giveth  breath  unto 
the  people  upon  it,  and  spirit  to  them  that  walk 
therein.  I  the  Lord  have  called  thee  in  righteous- 
ness, and  will  hold  thine  hand,  and  will  keep  thee, 
and  give  thee  for  a  covenant  of  the  people,  for  a 
light  of  the  gentiles.'''' 

There  is  no  necessity  of  showing  that  this  prophecy  is 
fulfilled  in  Christ,  since  he  is  actually  A  LIGHT  OF 
THE  GENTILES  (Or  Goyim).  By  whom  are  the  civ- 
ilized nations  drawn  to  the  One  God  of  Israel.^  Who 
makes  every  knee  bend  and  every  tongue  swear  to  Him  ? 
Who  taught  the  Gentiles  to  call  Jehovah  "  My  light  and 
my  salvation  ?"  Who  destroyed  the  temples  and  altars  of 
idolatry  ?  Who  opens  the  human  heart  to  cry  "  Father  " 
to  the  Creator  ?  Is  it  not  Jesus  Christ  .'*  Israel  mocked 
at  this  claim   and   crucified  him,  but  we  see  that  he  pre- 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  235 

vailed.  He  IS  the  light  of  the  Gentiles.  His  light  shines 
and  shows  the  inhabitants  of  the  remotest  islands  where 
Zion  lies.  It  is  a  fact ;  we  see  it.  Some  servant  was 
promised  who  is  described  to  be  lowly  and  meek.  "  He 
shall  not  cry,"  etc.,  and  at  the  same  time  shall  be  a  light 
to  the  Gentiles.  Is  there  any  other  name  in  whom  one 
could  reasonably  claim  that  the  above  prophecy  is  ful- 
filled "^  Jews  may  claim  that  Israel  is  the  servant  alluded 
to,  but  are  they  the  light  of  the  Gentiles  .^  I  have  already 
said  that  the  nations  received  the  Bible  only  from  the 
hands  of  the  Apostles  of  Jesus. 

Is.  Iv :  "  O  every  one  that  thirsteth  come  ye  to  the 
waters,  and  he  that  hath  no  money  come  ye  buy 
and  eat :  yea  come,  buy  wine  and  milk  without 
money  and  without  price.  Wherefore  do  ye 
spend  money  for  that  which  satisfies  not,  hearken 
dilligently  unto  me  and  eat  ye  that  which  is  good, 
and  let  your  soul  delight  itself  in  fatness.  In- 
cline your  ear  and  come  unto  me.  Hear  and  your 
soul  shall  live,  and  I  will  make  an  everlasting  cov- 
enant with  you,  even  the  sure  mercies  of  David. 
Behold,  I  have  given  him  for  a  witness  to  the  peo- 
ple, a  leader  and  commander  to  the  people." 

This  chapter  speaks  too  plainly  to  need  any  further 
interpretation.  If  the  Prophet  Isaiah  lived  at  this  day, 
he  could  not  speak  any  plainer.  The  Jewish  relig- 
ion is  the  bread  which  satisfies  not.  What  benefit  do 
you  derive  from  it }  Is  there  any  consolation  in  God, 
any  hope,  any  joy  offered  in  the  synagogue.''  And  what 
a  fountain  of  living  water  Christ  offers  !  what  a  satisfac- 
tion and  joy  in  God  !  "  Joy  in  God  "  is  not  a  phrase 
with  the  Christian,  it  is  an  actual  joy  {Chedvath  Adonai.) 
Wherefore  do   you  spend   your  money  for  that  which  is 


236  MIND    ANI>    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

no  bread?  and  your  labor  for  that  which  satisfieth  not? 
Since  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  religion  given  by  God, 
we  ought  to  find  its  aim,  its  object.  "  Hearken,  and  ye 
shall  have  the  sure  mercies  of  Davi^^  For,  says  the 
Prophet,  in  the  name  of  God,  you  see  that  /  have  given 
him  for  a  witness  to  the  people,  a  leader  and  commander 
to  the  people.  You  see  that  Christ  does  lead  the  people, 
he  is  the  leader,  you  see  it.  What  else  can  you  ex- 
pect of  the  Messiah  if  not  to  lead  nations  to  God  ? 
You  see  the  hand  of  God  in  the  fact  that  the  de- 
spised and  crucified  Christ  conquered  the  civilized 
world;  history  testifies  to  this.  You  see  that  the 
Prophet  predicted  him  as  he  is  now ;  why  shall  we 
not  believe  then  that  this  pure,  loving  Jesus  was  God's 
Messiah  ?  Has  any  man  ever  been  nearer  to  God  ?  Con- 
cerning our  reasons  for  refusing  to  believe  anything 
against  nature,  the  Prophet  continues  in  the  very  same 
chapter  and  says  : 

"  My  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts,  neither  are  your 
ways  my  ways,  saith  the  Lord.  For  as  the  heavens 
are  higher  than  the  earth,  so  are  my  ways  higher 
than  your  ways,  and  my  thoughts  than  your 
thoughts." 

Can  we  understand  God's  ways  ? 

Can  an  impartial  man  possibly  believe  that  the  above 
cited  passage  alludes  to  Israel  and  not  to  the  Mes- 
siah through  whom  we  receive  '"''the  sure  mercies  of  Da- 
vidV  Is  Israel  the  commander  of  the  nations?  In  the 
name  of  our  Fathers,  my  Jewish  brethren,  I  adjure  you 
to  take  the  Bible  and  examine.  Just  this  chapter  is  suffi- 
cient to  convince  you  that  Christ  is  the  promised  servant 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  237 

of  God,  who  is  also  promised  to  be  God's  ^'salvation  to  the 
end  of  the  earth,"  in  ch.  xlixv  :  6.  Indeed,  the  last 
twenty-seven  chapters  of  Isaiah  are  nearly  all  predictions 
of  Christ.  They  promise'the  consolation  and  peace  which 
are  only  found  at  Christ's  cross,  they  predict  that  the 
name  of  the  God  of  Israel  will  be  glorious  among  the 
heathen,  and  this  will  all  be  accomplished  through  the 
chosen  servant.  We  see  it  fulfilled.  God  wipes  away 
men's  tears,  he  lifts  man  above  himself,  makes  him  able 
to  despise  his  troubles,  gives  freedom  to  the  soul,  and 
this  all  through  the  name  of  Jesus;  shall  we  still  refuse' 
him  }  It  is  true  that  in  the  same  chapters  the  Israelitish 
nation  is  also  sometimes  mentioned  as  the  "  servant,"  but 
we  can  distinguish  where  the  Prophet  speaks  of  a  ser- 
vant in  such  circumstances  that  it  cannot  possibly 
allude  to  the  Israelitish  nation.     For  instance  : 

Is.  ch.  xlix :  "And  now  saith  the  Lord  that  formed  me 
from  the  womb,  to  be  his  servant,  to  bring  Jacob 
agaifi  to  him,  though  Israel  be  not  gathered,  (or, 
according  to  K'ri,  that  Israel"  may  be  gathered) 
yet  shall  I  be  glorious  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord,  and 
my  God  shall  be  my  strength.  And  he  said,  it  is 
a  light  thing  that  thou  shouldst  be  my  servant,  to 
raise  up  the  tribes  of  Jacob  and  restore  the  pre- 
served of  Israel  :  I  will  also  give  thee  for  a  light 
to  the  Gentiles," 

Here  we  see  that  the  servant  is  to  restore  Israel  and 
to  be  a  light  to  the  Gentiles.  And  so  we  find  at  other 
places.     For  instance  : 

Is,  ch.  xliii :  lo  :  "  Ff  are  my  witnesses,  saith  the  Lord, 
and  my  servant  whom  I  have  chosen." 

Thus  "  ye  "  does  not  mean  the  servant.    We  only  need 
i6 


238  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

to  read  the  prophecies   in  order   to  find  that  they  speak 
of  a  servant  besides  Israel. 

It  is  perfectly  absurd  to  say  that  the  Prophet  himself 
was  meant  in  those  chapters,  for  he  did  not  accomplish 
what  is  promised.  The  prophet  did  not  destroy  the 
idols,  and  was  no  light  to  the  Gentiles.  There  is  always 
something  dark  in  all  prophecies,  but  we  see  it  too  con- 
spicuously that  the  Prophet  sometimes  speaks  of  Israel, 
who  refuses  to  believe,  sometimes  of  the  Israelites  ac- 
cording to  the  belief,  and  sometimes  of  the  servant  who 
.converts  to  the  belief.  It  is  very  easy  to  distinguish 
every  time  to  whom  the  Prophet  alludes.  Speaking  to 
the  children  of  Israel,  he  never  ceases  to  rebuke  them. 
For  instance,  the  last  part  of  ch.  xlii,  and  xliii ;  also  the 
beginnings  of  xlviii  and  1. 

While  the  Prophet  laments  over  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem in  ch.  Ixiv,  the  Lord  answers  in  ch.  Ixv:  "  I  am 
sought  of  them  that  asked  not  for  me  ;  I  am  found  of  them 
that  souglit  me  not.  I  said,  behold  me,  behold  me,  unto 
a  nation  that  was  not  called  by  my  name.  I  have  spread 
out  my  hands  all  the  day  unto  a  rebellious  people,  which 
walketh  in  a  way  that  was  not  good,  after  iheir  own 
thoughts  y 

In  short,  we  find  that  the  Prophet  speaks,  firstly,  of 
Israel,  who  refuses  to  believe,  and  declares  that  it  is  the 
consequence  of  not  obeying  God,  and  going  after  their 
false  teachers.  This  Israel  the  Prophet  rebukes  and 
exhorts  and  asks  them  to  believe.  But  he  predicts  that 
the  time  will  come  when  they  will  believe ;  when  God  will 
forgive  their  sins  and  hardness  of  heart  for  His  own 
sake,  and  then  they  will  be  glorious.     Secondly,  of  Israel 


v^iv,    juuj^isM    AINU    CHRISTIANITY,  239 

in  the  spirit,  those  who  believe  God  and  cling  to  Him 
in  love.      And    accordingly    he    speaks    of  two  Zions, 
the    visible    and    the    spiritual.     Thirdly,  of  his  chosen 
servant,    who     shall     restore     Israel    and     be    a    light 
to  the  Gentiles,  and  through  whom  idolatry  will  fall,  and 
salvation    will  be  given.     And  every  one  of  these  three 
persons,  namely  :     Israel  according  to  the  flesh,  Israel  ac- 
cording to  the  spirit  and  the  Messiah,  is  called  "  my  serv- 
ant." This  is  so  obvious  that  no  impartial  reader  can  deny 
it.    The  last  part  of  Isaiah  is  all  very  intelligible  if  we  are 
guided  by  this  true  principle.     In  the  first  part  we  also 
find  prophecies  of  the  same  character.     Especially  in  ch. 
xxviii  we  find  a  nice  picture  of  Jewish  orthodoxy,  of  the 
worship  of  the  lips  and  the  accumulation  of  laws  ;  "  here 
a  little,  there  a  little."     Isaiah  gives   such   a  true  picture 
of  Judaism  as  it  is.  after  Christ,  and  breathes  so  much  of 
the  spirit  of  the  New  Testament,  that  if  the  Bible  had  no. 
other  evidences  for  its   divine  origin,  this  shows  it  suffi- 
ciently.    Only  God  could  predict  the  two  religions,  and 
describe  them  so  perfectly,  centuries  before  they  existed 
The  question  whether  the  last  twenty-seven  chapters  of 
Isaiah  were  written  by  this  Prophet  or  by  another,  in  a- 
later  period,  is  of  no  consequence  for  us,  since  they  were 
surely  written   before  Christ,  and  are  in  the  Old   Testa- 
ment canon.     Whoever  wrote   them  was  a  Prophet  for 
he  foresaw  the  two  religions.     No  matter  how  much  the 
two  parts  of  Isaiah  differ  in  the  character  of  their  Ian, 
guage,wesee  the  same  prophecies  concerning  Judaism 
and  Christianity.     In    the    first   part    we    even  find  the 
Prophet  pointing  more  to  the  distinction  between  the  re-, 
ligion  of  the  mind  and  that  of  the   heart.     In  the  follow-. 


240  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

ing  chapters   we   shall   have   occasion   again  to  cite  the 
same  Prophet. 


Jeremiah  xxxi,  31  :  "  Behold,  the  days  come,  saith  the 
Lord,  that  I  will  make  a  new  covenant  with  the 
house  of  Israel  and  with  the  house  of  Judah,  not 
according  to  the  covenant  that  I  have  made  with 
their  fathers  in  the  day  that  I  ^took  them  by  the 
hand  to  bring  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt, 
which  my  covenant  they  brake,  although  I  was 
a  husband  unto  them  saith  the  Lord.  But  this 
shall  be  the  covenant  that  I  will  make  with  the 
house  of  Israel,  after  those  days  saith  the  Lord.  I 
will  put  my  law  in  their  inward  parts  and  write  it 
in  their  hearts,  and  will  be  their  God  and  they 
shall  be  my  people,"  etc. 

Do  we  not  find  this  covenant  in  the  love  of  God  with 
which  Jesus  imbues  the  heart  of  the  one  who  is  drawn 
to  his  person,  and  which  places  a  man  above  the  law.? 
Is  not  the  glowing  love  to  everything  spiritual  and  di- 
vine, with  which  Jesus  alone  can  fill  the  human  heart,  a 
law  which  is  written  in  the  heart  ? 

Ez.  xxxvi:  26:  "A  new  heart  also  will  I  give  you,  and 
a  new  spirit  will  I  put  within  you,  and  I  will  take 
away  the  stony  heart  out  of  your  flesh,  and  I  will 
give  you  a  heart  of  flesh.  And  I  will  put  my 
spirit  within  you,  and  cause  you  to  walk  in  my 
statutes,  and  ye  shall  keep  my  judgments  and  do 
them." 

Does  not  God  give  a  new  heart  and  a  new  spirit  to  the 
Christian,  and  cause  him  to  walk  in  His  statutes,  when 
He  moves  his  heart  to  everything  good  by'  love.? 
There  can  be  no  stronger  evidence  for  Christ  than  the 
fact  that  the  above  described  experiences  are  promised 
by  the  Prophets  Jeremiah    and   Ezekiel.     The  Christian 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  24I 

feels  the  fulfillment  of  the  above  prophecies.  Every 
truly  converted  Christian  can  testify  to  this,  before  God 
and  men. 

Ez.  xxxiv:  22:  ''Therefore  will  I  save  my  flock,  and 
they  shall  no  more  be  a  prey :  and  I  will  judge 
between  cattle  and  cattle.  And  I  will  set  up  one 
shepherd  over  them  and  he  shall  feed  them,  even 
my  servant  David ;  he  shall  feed  them  and  he 
shall  be  their  shepherd.  And  I  the  Lord  will  be 
their  God  and  ray  servant  David  a  prince  among 
them." 

Reformers  deny  that  a  Messiah  from  the  house  of  Da- 
vid is  promised.  Since  Ezekiel  prophesied  in  the  exile, 
therefore  he  could  not  have  alluded  to  any  of  the  Kings 
of  the  house  of  David  who  reigned  before  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  temple.  To-day  we  cannot  even  tell  whether 
there  are  any  children  of  David  living;  no  Israelite  can 
prove  his  pedigree.  Must  not  this  prophecy  be  fulfilled 
in  Christ }  It  is  especially  very  interesting  to  compare 
Ezek.  xxxiv,  with  John  x  and  Math.  xxxv. 


Hosea  iii :  4  :  "  For  the  children  of  Israel  shall  abide 
many  days  without  a  king,  and  without  a  prince, 
and  without  a  sacrifice  and  without  an  image  (or 
monument)  and  without  an  ephod,  and  without 
theraphim.  Afterwards  shall  the  children  of  Is- 
rael return  and  seek  the  Lord  their  God,  and 
David  their  king,  and  shall  fear  the  Lord  and  his 
goodness  in  the  latter  days." 

In  this  passage  we  find  a  prediction  of  the  condition 
of  Israel  as  it  is  now,  lasting  more  than  eighteen  centu- 
ries, with  the  sure  promise  that  they  "  shall  return  and 
seek  their  God    and  David  their   King."     Consequently 


242  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

the  King  David  is  not  to  come  to  them,  but  he  is  the 
King  and  they  have  to  return  and  seek  him,  when  they 
return  and  seek  their  God.  Can  this  passage  be  inter- 
preted in  any  other  sense  than  that  Jesus  is  their  King 
and  they  left  him  when  leaving  their  God  ?  Do  we  not 
see  it  ?  Who  else  is  the  King  to  whom  they  shall  return 
and  seek  him  ?  The  Bible  is  true,  and  every  one  of  my  peo- 
ple will  return  to  their  King,  as  Paul  also  affirms.  IMay 
they  do  it  soon. 


Haggai  ii :  6  :  "  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts  ;  yet 
once,  it  is  a  little  while,  and  I  v/ill  shake  the 
heavens,  and  the  earth  and  the  sea  and  the  dry 
land.  And  I  will  shake  all  nations,  and  the  de- 
sire of  all  nations  shall  come  :  and  I  will  fill  this 
house  with  glory,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  The 
silver  is  mine,  and  the  gold  is  mine,  saith  the  Lord 
of  hosts.  The  glory  of  this  latter  house  shall  be 
greater  than  of  the  former,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts, 
and  in  this  place  will  I  give  peace,  saith  the  Lord 
of  hosts." 

The  Prophet  Haggai  encouraging  to  build  the  second 
temple,  says  that  the  '^desire  of  all  the  nations''  shall 
come,  and  the  house  shall  be  filled  with  glory.  Also 
that  the  glory  of  the  second  shall  be  greater  than  that 
of  the  first  temple.  And  in  the  second  God  promises  to 
give  peace.  The  second  temple  was  destroyed.  Where 
is  the  desire  of  all  the  nations,  the  glory  which  is  to  be 
greater  than  that  of  the  temple  of  Solomon,  and  the 
peace,  if  everything  is  not  fulfilled  in  Christ  t  This  pas- 
sage is  too  plain,  it  cannot  even  be  perverted.  Must  we 
not  see  in  Christ  the  promised  desire  of  all  the  nations, 
the  greatest  glory  of  God,  and  the  given  peace  ?  Is  not 
everything  fulfilled  in  Christ.^ 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  243 

Haggai,  ii :  21  :  "  Speak  to  Zeriibabel,  Governor  of  Ju- 
dah,  saying,  I  will  shake  the  heavens  and  the  earth, 
and  I  will  overthrow  the  chariots  and  those  that 
ride  in  them,  and  the  horses  and  their  riders  shall 
come  down  every  one  by  the  sword  of  his  brother. 
In  that  day,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  will  I  take 
thee,  O  Zerubabel  my  servant,  the  son  of  Sheal- 
thiel,  saith  the  Lord,  and  will  make  thee  a  signet, 
for  I  have  chosen  thee,  saith   the  Lord  of  hosts." 

Again  the  Lord  by  the  mouth  of  Haggai  speaks  of 
shaking  heaven  and  earth,  and  then  He  will  take  His  ser- 
vant Zerubabel  and  make  him  a  signet,  for  he  is  chosen. 
Where  is  this  prophecy  fulfilled,  if  not  in  Jesus,  the  son 
of  Zerubabel,  the  son  of  David  ? 


Zech.  iii :  8  :  "  Hear  now,  O  Joshua  the  high  priest,  thou 
and  thy  fellows  that  sit  with  thee,  for  they  are  men 
wondered  at;  for  behold,  I  will  bring  forth  my 
servant  the  Branch  (Zemach.) 

^'  ch.  vi:  12:  "  And  speak  unto  him,  saying.  Thus 
speaketh  the  Lord  of  hosts,  saying.  Behold  the 
man  whose  name  is  the  Branch,  and  he  shall  grow 
up  out  of  his  place,  and  he  shall  build  the  temple 
of  the  Lord.  Even  he  shall  build  the  temple  of 
the  Lord,  and  shall  sit  and  rule  upon  his  throne, 
and  the  counsel  of  peace  shall  be  between  them 
both." 

We  find  that  the  Lhargum,  the  Rabbis  and  Philo  con- 
sider this  ''Branch''  (Zemach)  to  be  the  promised  Mes- 
siah. In  Jeremiah  we  also  find  this  ''Branch  "  promised. 
He  is  to  be  a  king  and  still  a  priest  upon  his  throne. 
This  agrees  with  the  Christian  doctrine. 

Zech.  ix  :  9  :  "Rejoice  greatly,  O  daughter  of  Zion,  shout, 
O  daughter  of  Jerusalem,  behold  thy  King  cometh 
unto  thee;  he  is  just  and  having  salvation,  lowly 
and   riding  upon   an  ass,  and  upon  a  colt,  the  foal 


244  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

of  an  ass.  And  I  will  cut»off  the  chariot  froro 
Ephraim,  and  the  horse  from  Jerusalem,  and  the 
battle  bow  shall  be  cut  off,  and  he  shall  speak 
peace  unto  the  heathen ;  and  his  dominion  shall 
be  from  sea  even  to  the  sea,  and  from  the  river 
even  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  As  for  thee  also  by 
the  Mood  of  thy  covenant  I  have  sent  forth  thy  prison- 
ers out  of  the  pit  wherein  there  is  no  ivatery 

This  passage  is  considered  a  prediction  of  the  Messiah 
also  in  the  Rabbinical  literature.  It  is  a  perfect  marvel 
how  they  still  could  refuse  Christ.  {As  I  said,  nothing 
convinces  but  the  love  of  God.)  This  passage  is  a  full  de- 
scription of  Christ.  A  joyous  thing  for  Zion,  the  King 
comes,  poor  and  lowly  still  the  King,  just  and  having 
salvation,  (a  helper  or  saviour,)  Vv'ill  speak  peace  to  the 
heathen,  and  reign  to  the  ends  of  the  world.  In  the 
midst  of  the  joyful  tiding  the  Prophet  speaks,  though,  of 
cutting  off  the  chariot  from  Ephraim  and  the  horse  from 
Jerusalem,  (alluding  to  Israel's  unbelief.)  And  then, 
speaking  of  this  glorious  and  poor  King,  he  says,  "  As  for 
thee,  (or  better,  'and  also  thou,')  by  the  blood  of  thy  cove- 
nant,'' etc.,  predicting  the  crucifiction  and  atonement. 
Is  it  not  a  wonderful  blindness  that  a  people  who  own 
the  Bible,  who  brought  it  from  God,  and  see  the  history 
of  Christ  and  his  government,  still  refuse  him  in  spite  of 
such  a  passage.  The  poverty  of  the  King  who  speaks, 
peace  to  the  heathen  teaches  very  plainly  that  the  Mes- 
siah is  the  spiritual  King.  Indeed,  that  this  passage-  is 
alluding  to  the  Messiah  is  a  thing  which  is  obvious  to 
every  reader.  Dr.  Strauss  says  that  the  Evangelists  in- 
vented that  Christ  rode  on  an  ass  into  Jerusalem, because  it 
was  according  to  this  prophecy  that  he  should  do  so.  So 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  .       245 

that  the  prophecy  is  not  fulfilled  but  in  the  invention  of 
the  writers  of  the  New  Testament.  Eiit  what  does  Mr. 
Strauss  answer  to  the  prediction,  "  and  he  shall  speak 
peace  unto  the  heathen,  and  his  reign  shall  be  from  sea 
even  unto  the  sea".?  That  Jesus  rode  on  an  ass  is  a 
thing  which  no  one  can  prove,  and  Mr.  Strauss  can  claim 
that  it  was  an  invention.  But  this  is  a  fact,  which  Mr.. 
Strauss  cannot  and  does  not  deny,  that  Jesus  speaks 
■peace  to  the  Gentiles,  and  that  his  reign  /s  from  sea  even 
to  the  sea.  We  see,  therefore,  that  this  propJiecy  is  ful- 
filled in  him,  and  the  whole  thing  cannot  be  an  imagina- 
tion. Then  it  is  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the 
occurrence  with  the  ass  was  an  invention,  when  the 
words  of  Zechariah  are  a  prophecy,  and  the  Evangelists 
are  the  servants  of  the  one  promised.  If  there  is  some- 
thing supernatural  about  it  then  we  see  that  we  have  to 
believe.  And  it  must  be  supernatural,  for  how  could 
Zechariah  predict  the  coming  of  one  who  will  reign  from 
sea  to  sea  without  having  a  supernatural  revelation.  Or, 
is  the  fact  that  Jesus  reigns  from  sea  to  sea,  and  speaks 
peace  to  the  Gentiles,  also  an  invention  of  the  Evangel- 
ists } 


Daniel  ix.  i.  "In  the  first  year  of  Darius  the  son  of 
Ahasuerus,  of  the  seed  of  the  Medes,  which  was  made 
king   over  the  realm  of  the  Chaldeans : 

2.  "  In  the  first  year  of  his  reign,  I  Daniel  understood 
by  books  the  number  of  the  years,  whereof  the  word  of 
the  Lord  came  to  Jeremiah  the  prophet,  that  he  would 
accomplish  seventy  years  in  the  desolations  of  Jerusalem, 

3.  "  TAnd  I  set  my  face  unto  the  Lord  God,  to  seek 
by  prayejr  and  supplications,  with  fasting,  and  sackcloth 
arid  ashes : 

4.  "And  I  ])raved  unto  the    Lord  mv  God,  and  made 


246      •  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  : 

my  confession,  and  said,  O  Lord,  the  great  and  dreadful 
God,  keeping  the  covenant  and  mercy  to  them  that  love 
him,  and  to  them  that  keep  his  commandments: 

5.  "  We  have  sinned,  and  have  committed  iniquity,  and 
have  done  wickedly,  and  have  rebelled,  even  by  depart- 
ing from  thy  precepts  and  from  thy  judgments  : 

6.  "  Neither  have  we  hearkened  unto  thy  servants,  the 
prophets,  which  spake  in  thy  name  to  our  kings,  our 
princes,  and  our  fathers,  and  to  all  the  people  of  the 
land. 

7.  "  O  Lord,  righteousness  belongeth  unto  thee,  but 
unto  us  confusion  of  faces,  as  at  this  dav  ;  to  the  men  of 
Judah,  and  to  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  and  unto  all 
Israel,  _///^/  are  near,  and  that  are  far  off,  through  all  the 
countries,  whither  thou  hast  driven  them,  because  of 
their  trespass  that  they  have  trespassed  against  thee. 

8.  "  O  Lord,  to  us  beIo?igeth  confusion  of  face,  to  our 
kings,  to  our  princes,  and  to  our  fathers,  because  we  have 
sinned  against  thee. 

9.  "  To  the  Lord  our  God  belong  mercies  and  forgive- 
nesses, though  we  have  rebelled  against  him  : 

10.  "  Neither  have  we  obeyed  the  voice  of  the  Lord 
our  God,  to  walk  in  his  laws,  which  he  set  before  us  by 
his  servants  the  prophets. 

11.  "Yea,  all  Israel  have  transgressed  thy  law,  even  by 
departing,  that  they  might  not  obey  thy  voice;  therefore 
the  curse  is  poured  upon  us,  and  the  oath  that  is  written  in 
the  Uw  of  Moses  the  servant  of  God,  because  we  have 
sinned  against  him. 

12.  "  And  he  hath  confirmed  his  words,  which  he  spake 
against  us,  and  against  our  judges  that  judged  us,  by 
bringing  upon  us  a  great  evil ;  for  under  the  whole  heaven 
hath  not  been  done  as  hath  been  done  upon  Jerusalem. 

13.  "  As  //  is  written  in  the  law  of  Moses,  aU  this  evil 
is  come  upon  us:  yet  made  we  not  our  prayer  before  the 
Lord  our  God,  that  we  might  turn  from  our  iniquities, 
and  understand  thy  truth. 

14.  "  Therefore  hath  the  Lord  watched  upon  the  evil, 
and  brought  it  upon  us  :  for  the  Lord  our  God'  is  right- 
eous in  all  his  works  which  he  doeth  :  for  we  obeyed'not 
his  voice. 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  247 

15.  "  And  now,  O  Lord  our  God,  that  hast  brought 
thy  people  forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  with  a  mighty 
hand,  and  has  gotten  thee  reknown,  as  at  this  day ;  we 
have  sinned,  we  have  done  wickedly. 

16.  "^O  Lord,  according  to  all  thy  righteousness,  I 
beseech  thee,  let  thine  anger  and  thy  fury  be  turned 
away  from  thy  city  of  Jerusalem,  thy  holy  mountain  : 
because  for  our  sins,  and  for  the  iniquities  of  our  fathers, 
Jerusalem  and  thy  people  are  beco?}ie  a  reproach  to  all 
that  ai^e  about  us. 

17.  "  Now  therefore,  O  our  God,  hear  the  prayer  of 
thy  servant,  and  his  supplications,  and  cause  thy  face  to 
shine  upon  thy  sanctuary  that  is  desolate,  for  the  Lord's 
sake. 

18.  "O  my  God,  incline  thine  ear,  and  hear;  open 
thine  eyes,  and  behold  our  desolations,  and  the  city 
which  is  called  by  thy  name  :  for  we  do  not  present  our 
supplications  before  thee  for  our  righteousness,  but  for 
thy  great  mercies. 

19.  "  O  Lord,  hear;  O  Lord,  forgive;  O  Lord,  hearken 
and  do ;  defer  not,  for  thine  own  sake,  O  my  God ;  for 
thy  city  and  thy  people  are  called  by  thy  name. 

20.  "^  And  while  I  was  speaking,  and  praying,  and 
confessing  my  sin  and  the  sin  of  my  people  Israel,  and 
presenting  my  supplications  before  the  Lord,  my  God  for 
the  holy  mountain  of  my  God  ; 

21.  "  Yea,  while  I  was  speaking  in  prayer,  even  the 
man  Gabriel,  whom  I  had  seen  in  the  vision  at  the  be- 
ginning, being  caused  to  fly  swiftly,  touched  me  about 
the  time  of  the  evening  oblation, 

22.  "And  he  informed  me^  and  talked  with  me,  and 
said,  O  Daniel,  I  am  now  come  forth  to  give  thee  skill  and 
understanding. 

23.  "At  the  beginning  of  thy  supplications  the  com- 
mandment came  forth,  and  I  am  come  to  shew  thee;  for 
thou  art  greatly  beloved ;  therefore  understand  the  mat- 
ter, and  consider  the  vision, 

24.  "  Seventy  weeks  are  determined  upon  thy  people 
and  upon  thy  holy  city,  to  finish  the  transgression,  and 
ito  make  an  end  of  sins,  and  to  make  reconciliation  for 


248  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

iniquity,  and  to  bring  in  everlasting  righteousness,  and  to 
seal  up  the  vision  and  jjrophecy,  and  to  annoint  the 
Most  Holy. 

25.  "  Know  therefore  and  understand,  f/iaf  from  the 
going  forth  of  the  commandment  to  restore  and  to  rebuild 
Jerusalem,  unto  the  Messiah  the  Prince,  s/m//  be  seven 
weeks,  and  threescore  and  two  weeks :  the  street  shall  be 
built  again,  and  the  wall,  even  in  troublous  times. 

26.  "And  after  threescore  and  two  weeks  shall  Mes- 
siah be  cut  off,  but  not  for  himself:  (or  and  hath  nothing) 
and  the  people  of  the  prince  that  shall  come  shall  de- 
stroy the  city  and  the  sanctuary  ;  and  the  end  thereof 
shall  be  with  a  flood,,  and  unto  the  end  of  the  war  desola- 
tions are  determined. 

27.  "And  he  shall  confirm  the  covenant  with  many 
for  one  week :  and  in  the  midst  of  the  week  he  shall 
cause  the  sacrifice  and  the  oblation  to  cease,  and  for 
the  overspreading  of  abominations  he  shall  make //deso- 
late, even  until  the  consummation,  and  that  determined 
shall  be  poured  upon  the  desolate." 

Daniel,  in  the  exile,  looking  for  the  redemption  of  Is- 
rael, made  a  confession  of  sins,  and  offered  a  most  fer- 
vent prayer  for  his  people.  He  must  have  expected  the 
full  redemption  by  the  Messiah  after  the  seventy  years- 
which  were  to  be  the  duration  of  the  exile  according  to- 
Jeremiah.  This  we  understand  from  the  answer  to  his. 
prayer  by  the  angel  Gabriel.  For  he  tells  him  "seventy 
weeks  are  determined  to  finish  transgression,"  etc.^ 
/.  <f.,  the  redemption  for  which  thou  hast  prayed  will  not 
come  as  thou  thinkest  in  seventy  years,  but  in  seventy 
weeks,  or  seventy  times  seven  years.  After  seventy 
weeks,  or  four  hundred  and  ninety  years,  the  thing  for 
which  thou  prayest  will  come ,  namely,  the  end  of  sins 
and  reconciliation.  For  we  must  expect  the  answer  of 
the  angel  to  be  in   accordance  with   the   request.     Now,. 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  249 

the  angel  predicts  the  end  of  sins,  the  coming  of  the 
Messiah  and  his  being  cut  off  shortly  before  the  end  of  the 
appointed  period,  which  will  terminate  in  desolation. 
Thus  the  hope  of  Israel  will  be  fulfilled  in  a  time  of  des- 
olation, not  in  outward  glory.  The  question  is,  now, 
when  those  four  hundred  and  ninety  years  terminate. 
They  begin  with  the  going  forth  of  the  commandment  to 
restore  and  to  build  Jerusalem.  The  commandment  of 
Cyrus  in  the  first  year  of  his  reign,  536  B.  C,  was  only 
to  build  the  temple  not  Jefusalem^  according  to  Ezra  i. 
The  same  is  the  case  with  the  commandment  of  Darius 
Hystaspes,  516  B.  C,  according  to  Ezra  vi.  But  in  the 
seventh  chapter  of  Ezra  we  find  that  Ezra  went  up  to 
Jerusalem^  and  the  letter  which  Artaxerxes  Longimanus 
gave  him  the  seventh  year  of  his  reign,  457  B.  C,  makes 
mention  of  Jernsaletn^  and  endows  him  with  civil  au- 
thority to  appoint  magistrates  and  judges.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  but  that  Ezra  had  authority  to  build  the  walls 
of  the  city^  not  of  the  temple  only,  for  in  his  prayer  in  the 
ninth  chapter  he  says,  "  Our  God  has  not  forsaken  us  in 
our  bondage,  but  hath  extended  mercy  unto  us  in  the  sight 
of  the  kings  of  Persia,  to  give  us  a  reviving,  to  set  up 
the  house  of  our  God,  and  to  repair  the  desolations 
thereof,  and  to  give  us  a  wall  (Gader)  in  Judah  and  Je- 
rusalem.''  This  makes  it  sure  that  Ezra  had  authority  to 
build  the  wall  of  Jerusalem.  We  also  find  in  Nehemiah  i. 
that  Hanani,  who  came  back  from  Jerusalem,  brought  the 
report  to  Nehemiah  that  the  wall  of  Jerusalem  was 
broken  down  and  the  gates  thereof  were  burned  with  fire, 
and  that  Nehemiah  wept  over  this  report.  This  shows 
plainly  that  Nehemiah  thought  that  the  walls  were  rebuilt. 


250  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

For  he  knew  of  the  destruction  of  the  walls  by  Nebu- 
chadnezzar without  Hanani's  report.  Consequently  we 
see  that  the  commandment  to  build  Jerusalem  went  forth 
in  the  seventh  year  of  Artaxerxes,  457  B.  C.  From  this 
to  33  after  Christ  is  exactly  490  years,  which  tills  out  the 
period  of  seventy  weeks.  Thus  sixty-nine  weeks,  or 
483  years  after  the  commandment  to  build  Jerusalem 
went  forth,  "  Messiah  was  prince,"  that  is,  Christ  came 
forth  and  commenced  his  work  according  to  the  angel's 
prediction.  And  after  these  sixty-nine  weeks,  /.  <?.,  some- 
what later,  the  Messiah  was  cut  off,  the  crucifixion  taking 
place  A.  D.  30.  i\bout  three  years  later  the  persecution 
of  the  church  commenced,  and  the  Apostles  were  banished 
from  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  ;^;^.  This  is  the  beginning  of  the 
desolation  according  to  the  angel.  We  see  therefore 
very  plainly  that  the  angel's  prediction  is  all  fulfilled  ac- 
cording to  the  appointed  time.  The  division  of  the 
sixty-nine  weeks  into  seven  and  sixty-two  may  allude  to 
the  first  fifty  years  after  the  return  of  Ezra  till  law  and 
order  and  the  old  canon  were  established.  The  seven, 
weeks  are  the  first  division  of  the  seventy,  consequently 
they  must  allude  to  the  first  forty-nine  years  after  Ezra's 
return.  Sir  Isaac  Newton  wrote  a  work  in  defence  of 
this  system,  but  I  have  not  had  the  opportunity  of  see- 
ing it. 

Some  Christian  scholars  take  the  twentieth  year  of  Ar- 
taxerxes, when  Nehemiah  went  up  expressly  to  h/i'M  Je- 
rusalem (according  to  Nehemiah  ii.)  to  be  the  time  of  the 
going  forth  of  the  commandment.  They  try  to  show 
that  the  seventh  year  of  Artaxerxes  was  before  the 
457th  B.  C,  but  they  seem  to  fail    in  their  chronological 


n.  iM  ij     v^  xa  IV 1  o  -L  1  -"^  iM  I  X   x 


■i^ 


calculations.  Besides,  we  have  seen  from  Ezra  ix.  and 
Nehemiah  i,  that  the  commandment  to  build  Jerusalem 
must  have  been  given  when  Ezra  went  up. 

As  the  book  of  Daniel  so  explicitly  points  out  the  time 
of  Christ,  there  is  no  room  left  for  the  opposition,  and 
one  may  ask  how  it  was  possible  that  a  man  should  refuse 
to  believe  in  both  Testaments  after  he  sees  so  clearly 
that  the  predictions  of  the  Old  are  fulfilled  in  the  New. 
But  since  God  wanted  to  make  the  belief  a  means  of  sal- 
vation, he  left  stumbling-blocks  in  Scripture,  so  that  the 
unbeliever  always  finds  a  way  to  pervert  the  word  of 
God.  Isaiah  said,  "  He  shall  be  a  sanctuary  and  a  stone 
of  stumbling."  Hosea  said,  "The  ways  of  the  Lord  are 
right  and  the  just  shall  walk  therein,  and  the  transgressor 
shall  fall  therein"  (or  better,  "shall  stumble  thereat)." 

Indeed  the  predictions  of  Daniel  are  too  plain,  and 
therefore  this  book  was  subjected  to  the  severest  criti- 
cism, and  became  the  object  of  more  attacks  than  any  other 
book  of  Scripture.  There  is  a  full  literature  written 
about  this  book.  Opposers  try  to  show  that  everything 
which  this  book  predicts  was  fulfilled  within  the  period 
of  time  between  Daniel  and  the  Maccabeans  from  about 
540  to  164,  B.  C.  Rationalists,  who  would  not  admit 
that  a  special  prophecy  ever  was  fulfilled,  must  therefore 
try  to  show  that  the  book  was  not  written  until  after  164, 
B.  C.  The  writer,  say  they,  wrote  down  past  occur- 
rences of  history  in  the  form  of  prophecies,  which  he 
ascribed  to  Daniel.  Thus  the  whole  book  is  an  imposi- 
tion. Orthodox  Jews  would  excommunicate  one  for  such, 
an  assertion  about  any  book  of  the  old  canon.  The  Jew- 
ish nation  is  a  witness  for  the  genuineness  of  every  book 


.252  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

of  their  Bible.  Sincere  Jews,  tliat  is,  such  who  are  not 
inconsistent,  but  really  believe  their  Bible,  will  look  with 
contempt  upon  a  critic  who  tries  to  prove  the  Bible  an 
imposition.  The  consciousness  of  the  genuineness  of 
their  Bible  lives  in  their  hearts.  The  testimony  for  this 
book  is  sealed  up  with  the  blood  of  millions  of  Jewish 
and  Christian  martyrs.  The  fearful  curse  of  blindness 
and  madness  with  which  this  book  cursed  my  unhappy 
nation,  and  which  is  fulfilled  in  them,  is  certainly  evi- 
dence enough  for  the  Bible.  Look  at  the  mad  Talmud  and 
the  phantom  called  reform,"and  say  that  they  are  not  a  curse 
to  the  children  of  Israel.  I  have  nothing  but  contempt 
for  such  hypotheses  as  would  make  an  imposition  of  the 
Bible  of  God.  Thanks  to  the  living  God  of  my  fathers 
that  these  hypotheses  which  they  call  science  do  not 
move  me  now.  If  all  the  sciences  could  really  prove 
that  the  Bible  is  an  imposition,  then  they  would  them- 
selevs  altogether  be  an  imposition,  but  God's  word  is 
true.  "  Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my  feet,  and  a  light 
unto  my  path." — Ps.  cxix  :  105.  But  surely  no  science 
proves  anything  against  the  Bible.  The  rationalists  only 
make  hypotheses,  which  they  call  science,  because  they 
would  not  believe.  They  would  not  accept  the  greatest 
fortune  which  the  Bible  offers. 

When  I  cite  evidences  of  the  Old  Testament,  I  do  it 
only  for  those  vrho  believe  it.  It  is  not  my  object  here 
to  refute  the  rationalistic  critics,  and  I  would  not  waste  one 
word  here  in  showing  their  error.  But  since  highly  es- 
teemed, learned  and  faithful  Christians,  like  Ewald, 
Delitsch  and  others  were  caught  in  the  net  of  the  ration- 
alists concernincr   the  book   of  Daniel,   and   defend  the 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  253 

system  for  those  wlio  maintain  that  its  prophecies  were 
all  fulfilled  before  164,  B.  C,  therefore  I  shall  just  men- 
tion some  points  of  their  system,  and  leave  it  to  the 
reader  to  decide  \\'hether  this  system  is  not  a  perfect 
blunder. 

At  first  their  strongest  proof  that  the  book  was  written 
at  the  time  of  the  Maccabeans  is  the  uicntiomng  of  some 
Grecian  najiies  for  Jiiusical  iiistrioiicjits.  But  this  is  no 
proof,  for  the  Perso-Grecian  wars  commenced  not  a  very 
long  time  after  Daniel,  and  the  first  occasion  for  these 
wars  was  given  by  the  Grecian  colonies  in  Asia,  so  that 
Grecian  settlers  certainly  existed  in  Asia  in  Daniel's 
time,  and  very  naturally  some  artists  came  to  the  court 
of  Babylon  and  introduced  some  musical  instruments 
there,  which  were  known  by  their  Grecian  names. 
Secondly,  we  find  the  character  of  the  language  of  the  book 
of  Daniel  to  be  the  very  same  Avith  that  of  Ezra  and 
Nehemiah,  so  that  they  must  have  been  written  at  about 
the  same  time.  But  the  above  cited  chapter  ix  is  of  itself 
a  strong  proof  for  the  genuineness  of  the  book.  We  ha-\te 
seen,  above,  how  the  predictions  of  the  angel  is  perfectly 
fulfilled  in  Christ,  and  how  exactly  the  time  agrees.  We 
shall  now  see  how  the  other  side  explains  the  fulfillment 
of  Gabriel's  prediction  of  seventy  weeks. 

According  to  them,  the  time  of  the  seventy  weeks  ter- 
minates at  about  164,  B.  C.  Some  say  that  Seleucus 
Philopater,  wdio  was  killed,  was  the  Messiah  who  was  to 
be  cut  off,  and  others  maintain  that  it  was  some  High 
Priest.  Now,  we  ought  to  find  that  about  490  years  be- 
fore 164,  B.  C.,  some  commandment  was  given  to  build 
Jerusalem,  for  the  angel  appointed  this  as  the  beginning 

^  7 


254  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

of  his  seventy  weeks.     If  the  year  164  is  the  termination 
of  this  period,  then  654,  B.  C,  must  be  the  beginning  of 
it,  but  this  year  falls  in  the  reign  of  Josiah,  King  of  Judah, 
when  Jerusalem  was  still  flourishing.     They  take,  there- 
fore, the  fourth  year   of  Jehoiakim,  606,  when  Jeremiah 
predicted  the  seventy  years  of  exile   (Jeremiah   xxv  and 
xxix)  to  be  the  beginning  of  the  seventy  weeks,  and  Jere- 
miah's prophecy  to  be  the   commandment  for  rebuilding 
the  city.     But  Jeremiah   never   speaks  one  word  about 
rebuilding  Jerusalem ;  he  only  prophesied  that  they  shall 
be  in  exile  seventy  years.     Secondly,  Jeremiah's  predic- 
tion   was  made  only  442   years   before  anno  164,  B.   C. 
and     there    is   no     period    of    seventy    weeks    between 
the    beginning  and   the    end   of  the  appointed    period. 
Some  of  them  say,  therefore,  that  the  seven   weeks  were 
included  in  the  sixty-three,  so  that  the  period  appointed 
by  the  angel  was  to  last  only  sixty-three  weeks  altogether. 
But  the  angel  said  explici'tly  that  seventy  weeks  were  deter- 
mined, and  then   he   divided   them    into    three    unequal 
parts  of  seven,  sixty-two  and   one.     Thus  the  seven  can 
not  be   included  in  the  sixty-three.     In  short,  no  system 
but  the  Christian  can  show  that  the  angel's  prophecy  was 
fulfilled  according  to  the  appointed  time.     Besides  this, 
any  man  who  is  familiar   with   the  Jewish    literature  will 
find  the  idea   absurd  that  Seleucus  Philopater,  or  even  a 
High   Priest,  was  understood   under  the  word    Messiah. 
It  is  true  that  every  High  Priest  and  every  King  of  Israel 
was  called  Messiah,  since  they  were  annointed.   "Messiah" 
is  the  word  for  "  the  annointed"  in  the  Hebrew  language, 
like  "Christos  "  in  the  Greek.  But  whenever  in  the  Jewish 
literature  the  word  Messiah  is  mentioned  alone,  not  allud- 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  255 

ing  to  any  certain  king  or  priest,  it  surely  means  the  ex- 
pected Messiah.  Whenever  a  rabbinical  scholar  meets  a 
passage  speaking  of  the  Messiah  he  never  dreams  that  it  can 
possibly  allude  to  any  other  than  the  expected  Redeemer, 
Goel.  The  Mishnah  v/as  written  about  i6o,  A.  C,  and 
speaks  of  the  Messiah  without  giving  any  closer  defini- 
tion, but  takes  it  for  granted  that  any  reader  will  know 
who  is  meant.  This  shows  that  it  always  was  a  standing 
expression  in  Israel  as  it  is  now.  The  first  Christians 
also  understood  by  the  word  Messiah  the  Redeemer.  It 
is  especially  most  absurd  to  suppose  that  this  wicked 
idolater,  Seleucus,  was  called  "Messiah."  We  find  that 
the  Lord  called  Cyrus  "  My  Messiah,"  alluding  to  his  be- 
ing God's  chosen  to  restore  the  temple.  This  gives  no 
reason  to  think  that  we  can  call  any  heathenish  King 
Messiah.  If  one  could  name  any  King  or  priest  with  the 
name  Messiah,  then  this  word  could  never  have  become 
the  common  expression  for  the  Redeemer. 

But,  besides  all  the  objections  I  have  cited  above^ 
which  I  believe  must  convince  every  reader,  we  can 
not  suppose  that  the  angel  predicted  only  such  things 
as  were  fulfilled  v/ithin  164,  B.  C,  since  this 
would  be  no  answer  to  Daniel's  prayer,  Daniel  looked 
for  the  redemption  of  Israel,  and  the  angel  answers  him 
that  Seleucus  or  some  priest  will  be  killed.  Especially, 
what  has  the  Syro-Maccbean  war  to  do  with  the  finish- 
ing of  transgressions  and  sins  and  reconciliation  for 
iniquity,  of  which  mention  is  made  in  the  twenty-fourth 
verse  ?  W^here  is  the  everlasting  righteousness  to  be 
brought  in,  as  the  angel  promised  }  And  what  an  import- 
ance the   angel  placed   upon  his  message !    There  is  no 


256  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

sense  whatever  in  the  angel's  answer  to  Daniel  if  he  did 
not  allude  to  Christ.  Look  at  the  whole  chapter  and 
common  sense  will  compel  to  see  a  Messianic  prediction 
in  it,  else  it  would  make  nonsense.  Therefore,  this  very 
passage  proves  that  the  prophecies  of  Daniel  are  not  ful- 
filled before  Christ. 

This  passage  is  so  plain  a  prediction  of  Christ  that  it 
refutes  rationalism  of  itself;  we  see  that  it  must  be  the 
words  of  an  angel,  since  it  can  allude  to  no  one  else  but 
to  Christ.  And  if  it  had  been  an  imposition,  not  a  proph- 
ecy, then  it  had  to  be  written  after  Christ,  and  every  man 
will  admit  that  the  Jews  kept  their  Bible  so  that  no  sensi- 
ble man  will  suppose  that  the  Christians  could  impose 
any  spurious  passage  upon  them.  Notwithstanding  that 
the  language  of  the  angel  remains  dark,  especially  the 
last  verses,  it  is  still  clear  enough  that  it  is  the  plainest 
prediction  of  Christ.  The  time  of  the  seventy  weeks  can 
not  be  explained  in  any  other  way  than  in  the  one  I  have 
cited. 

The  strongest  corroboration  for  our  explanation  we 
find  again  with  the  Jews.  (How  wonderful  that  they  are 
always  the  strongest  witness),  for,  about  50  years  after 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  the  Jews  organized  a  gigan- 
tic revolution  against  Rome  under  the  leadership  of  Bar- 
Kok'ba  who  claimed  to  be  the  Messiah.  Rabbi  Akiba, 
who  was  the  greatest  authority  and  the  most  influential 
Rabbi  of  this  time,  followed  this  impostor.  The  reason 
why  he  followed  him  is  said  to  be  erring  in  calculating 
the  time  after  Daniel  (Shetaah  becheshban  Daniel). 
There  we  see  that  the  Jews  who  knew  well  enough  that 
Daniel  is  genuine  did  not  suppose  that  all  was  fulfilled. 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  257 

They  knew  that  this  passage  alludes  to  the  expected 
Messiah,  but  they  expected  him  to  come  later.  I  must 
say  that  we  see  a  special  punishment  of  God  in  this. 
Since  they  believed  their  Bible,  any  reader  may  ask,  how 
could  they  miss  Christ  after  the  book  of  Daniel  so  particu- 
larly points  out  the  time  ?  But  their  error  was  not  in 
misunderstanding  the  prophecy  nor  in  taking  the  time  of 
the  termination  to  be  earlier  than  it  was;  they  were  only 
confused  in  the  chronology  of  their  own  history.  It  is  a 
most  wonderful  phenomenon  that  the  Jews  lost  over  a 
century  and  a  half  of  their  history.  And  this  all  within 
the  period  of  the  second  temple.  They  reckon  less 
than  five  hundred  years  between  the  destruction  of  the 
first  and  that  of  the  last  temple,  while  there  is  a  period 
of  six  hundred  and  fifty-eight  years  between  the  two  dis- 
asters. Thus  when  Christ  came  they  must  have  thought 
that  there  was  about  a  century  and  a  half  to  the  end  of 
the  seventy  weeks.  Consequently,  when  Bar  Kok'ba  was 
successful  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  years 
after  Christ's  birth,  Rabbi  Akiba  thought  that  the  end  of 
the  seventy  weeks  was  near,  and  he  followed  him.  A 
good  many  things  indicate  that  the  Jews  expected  the 
Messiah  after  the  destruction  of  the  second  temple,  else 
they  would  not  have  had  so  much  courage  as  to  under- 
take their  revolutions.  We  see  that  since  they  became 
influenced  by  the  narrow  spirit  of  Phariseeism  they  lost 
all  sense  for  history,  they  did  not  even  write  a  history 
of  their  own  people.  Everything  they  relate  of  their 
history  is  mixed  up  with  fables  and  tales,  without  anye 
chronological  order  whatever.  The  result  was  that  they 
lost  a  century  and   a  half  out  of  sight,  and   their  crazy 


-25^  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

chronicles,  which  were  v/ritten  later,  show  less  than  live 
hundred  years  between  the  destruction  of  the  two  temples, 
and  so  it  is  copied  in  their  calendars  (Luach)  to  this 
day.  All  this  was  caused  by  their  haughty  belief  in  their 
own  human  authority.  For  the  Rabbis  considered  every- 
thing they  said  as  belonging  to  the  oral  law.  They  not 
only  thought  that  their  ordinances  and  perverse  doc- 
trines were  the  laws  of  God,  /.  ^.,  the  oral  law,  but  they 
also  believed  that  all  they  spoke  were  holy  words,  and 
were  also  the  law  of  God.  And  since  the  oral  law  was 
not  permitted  to  be  written,  they  did  not  write  anything^ 
not  even  their  history.  Thus  their  haughtiness  and  self- 
reliance  caused  their  error  m  missing  the  appointed 
time  of  the  Messiah,  as  well  as  the  misunderstanding  of 
his  character.  They  went  after  their  own  thoughts. 
The  common  chronology  is  pretty  sure  and  reliable  up 
to  Cyrus,  and  we  can  therefore  see  in  the  failure  of  R. 
Akiba  that  our  passage  predicted  Jesus  as  the  Christ 
according  to  a  right  chronology. 

There  are  a  good  many  other  points  which  prove  the 
error  of  those  who  consider  the  prophecies  of  Daniel  all 
fulfilled  within  164  B.  C,  especially  of  those  who  deny 
its  authenticity.  It  is  especially  very  clear  that  the  four 
kingdoms,  of  which  Daniel  speaks  in  other  chapters,  al- 
lude to  Babylon,  Persia,  Greece  and  Rome.  Josephus 
also  mentions  the  book  of  Daniel  in  connection  with  the 
pre-maccabean  history. 

Thereis  no  room  here  to  say  any  more  about  the  book 
of  Daniel.  But  I  believe,  that  every  thinking  man  will  find 
the  best  proofs  for  its  authenticity  in  the  books  of  its 
opponents,   notwithstanding  that  great   Christian   scho- 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  259 

lars  like  Ewald  and  Delitsch  follow  the  opposition. 
Every  man  is  liable  to  err,  and  we  go  after  no  human 
authority.  Just  the  fact  that  the  Jews  err  in  their  chro- 
nology, and  looked  for  the  Messiah  considerably  later, 
shows  sufficiently  what  the  angel  predicted.  Also  the 
fact  that  rationalists  maintain  that  our  citation  from 
Gen.  xlix,  and  the  book  of  Daniel  were  impositions,  writ- 
ten later,  and  were  only  ascribed  to  Jacob  and  Daniel, 
shows  that  they  found  irrefutable  evidences  for  Christ  in 
those  predictions  ;  that  is,  if  they  would  admit  them  to 
be  authentic  they  could  only  interpret  them  in  the  Christ- 
ian sense ;  therefore  they  must  make  efforts  to  show  that 
these  sure  predictions  are  only  an  imposition.  For  if 
they  were  not  impositions  then  Jesus  is  Christ.  But  as 
Daniel  could  not  have  been  written  after  Christ,  since  it 
is  a  Jewish  book,  therefore  they  must  also  show  that  all 
of  Daniel  was  fulfilled  164  B.  C.  Their  unbelief  caused 
them  difficulties,  and  they  have  to  seek  such  explana- 
tions of  the  Bible  as  agree  with  their  unbelief.  It  is  the 
same  as  with  their  historical  researches  about  the  origin 
of  Christianity  ;  unbelief  prompts  their  researches  in  his- 
tory and  in  the  Bible.  Take  the  Bible  as  it  is,  simply  as 
the  Bible,  and  there  is  no  reason  for  any  such  studies. 
If  we  believe  the  Bible  as  we  ought  to  do,  we  find  noth- 
ing odd,  no  difficulty  nor  problem.  They  make  them- 
selves difficulties  and  problems  where  there  are  none, 
because  they  would  not  believe  the  simple  truth.  But 
they  cannot  prove  their  hypothesis,  their  systems  have 
no  ground. 

Of  all  the  passages  cited  thus  far  we  see  that  the  Bible 
predicts  a  Messiah,  a  Son   of  David,  and   that  his  king- 


26o  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

dom  is  spiritual  only,  for  he  was  described  to  be  poor  and 
lowly.  In  Isaiah,  Hosea  and  Zechariah  we  even  see  it 
predicted  that  the  children  of  Israel  will  not  believe  in 
him.  Besides  that  the  character  of  Jesus  is  according 
to  the  description  given  by  the  Prophets,  and  besides 
that  we  actually  see  him  reigning  from  sea  to  sea,  as  the 
promised  light  of  the  Gentiles,  speaking  peace  to  them, 
we  find  the  surest  evidence  that  he  is  the  hope  of  Israel, 
in  the  fact  that  he  did  come  at  the  time  appointed  by 
the  Bible. 

It  is  yet  to  be  remarked  that  every  single  passage 
which  we  cited  is  considered  to  be  Messianic,  also  by 
the  Rabbis,  so  that  the  contest  is  only  about  the  person 
of  Jesus.  Against  the  fact  that  the  scepter  departed 
from  Judah  since  Christ  came,  the  Rabbis  only  main- 
tained that  it  did  not  depart,  since  they  had  some  cleri- 
cal heads;  but  now  that  these  do  not  exist,  they  have  no^ 
answer  whatever. 

Having  now  cited  scriptural  passages  sufficient  to  prove 
that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah  according  to  the  Jewish  Bible, 
I  shall  devote  the  following  chapter  to  the  doctrine  of 
incarnation,  or  the  divine  character  of  the  Redeemer. 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  26 1 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
THE  DIVINE  REDEEMER. 

"Thus  saith  the  Lord,  the  REDEEMER  of  Israel  and  his  Holy  One,  to- 
him  whom  man  despiseth,  to  him  whom  the  nation  abhorreth,  to  a  servant  of  rul- 
ers, Kings  shall  see  and  arise,  princes  also  shall  worship,  because  of  the  Lord  that 
is  faithful ,  and  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  and  he  shall  choose  thee.'"'— Is.  xHx  :  7. 

"  And  the  REDEEMER  shall  come  to  Zion,  and  unto  them  that  turn  from  trans- 
gression in  Jacob,  saith  the  Lord." — Ch.  lix:  20. 

Before  citing  any  biblical  passage  to  prove  the  divine 
character  of  Christ,  I  find  it  necessary  to  give  a  short 
explanation  of  this  doctrine,  since  it  is  very  much  misun- 
derstood. The  Jews  think  that  believing  in  Christ's 
divinity  is  believing  that  a  man  was  God.  This  misap- 
prehension leads  them  to  think  that  the  Christians  have 
a  corporeal  God.  Indeed,  such  a  belief  would  not  only 
be  idolatry,  but  even  illogical,  as  it  is  inconsistent  with  the 
first  and  main  doctrine  of  Christianity,  which  is,  to  believe 
in  One  invisible,  omnipresent  God,  the  mysterious. 
Holy  God  of  Israel.  To  make  people  believe  in  the  only 
One  God  of  Israel,  with  all  their  heart  and  soul,  was  the 
only  object  of  Christ's  life,  This  belief  is  the  only  aim 
of  Christianity.  Since  the  man  Jesus  was  visible  to  the 
eyes  of  man,  it  is  illogical  to  say  that  he  was  the  invisible- 
God.     Christianity  could  therefore  never  teach  any  such 


262  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

a  thing.  Nothing  can  be  considered  a  Christian  doc- 
trine which  is  not  taught  in  the  New  Testament,  and 
one  needs  only  to  read  this  book  in  order  to  see  that 
Christianity  teaches  only  the  One  God  of  Abraham.  No 
man  is  converted  to  Christ  if  he  does  not  feel  himself 
drawn  to  this  One  God  through  Christ.  (I  have  shown 
above  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  does  no  more  in- 
terfere with  the  unity  of  God  than  the  Jewish  belief  in 
the  Shechinah.)  The  man  Jesus  only  was  visible  to  the 
eyes  of  some  men  at  his  time.  The  man  Jesus  was  cru- 
cified, but  the  divine  Jesus  was  visible  only  to  the  hearts 
of  his  followers;  and  so  he  is  seen-  at  this  day.  Jesus' 
body  was  created  and  visible,  but  his  spirit  is  the  spirit 
of  the  living  God,  who  revealed  himself  in  him.  The 
suffering  and  tempted  Jesus  was  a  man,  but  the  perfect, 
victorious  Christ  is  God.  The  perfection  of  beauty  and 
beauty  of  perfection,  the  beauty  of  holiness  which  we  see 
in  Jesus  is  the  sweetness  and  beauty  of  God.  In  his 
heroic  struggle  with  the  world  we  sympathize  with  the 
man,  but  in  his  victory  we  see,  not  only  his  but  God's 
victory,  and  we  worship  God.  We  admire  the  man,  and 
become  conquered  by  his  self-denying  love,  until  we  see 
that  in  his  self-denial  he  ceases  to  be  a  man,  and  in  his 
universal  love  he  shows  us  the  love  of  God.  Man's  self 
is  between  him  and  God ;  in  Christ  the  man  is  subdued, 
overpowered,  and  where  the  man  ceases  God  commences. 
The  obstacle  which  exists  between  man  and  God  we  see 
removed  in  his  self-denial.  He  is  perfect,  and  nothing 
is  perfect  but  God.  We  commence  to  love  the  man  ;  his 
lovely  holiness  makes  our  heart  melt  in  contrition,  his  spirit 
of  love  consoles,  reconciles  and  unites  us   with  the  spirit 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  263 

'Of  love  and  harmony  of  the  all,  which  is  God.  Our  own 
self  vanishes,  we  perceive  the  awe  and  unbounded  great- 
ness of  the  living  God,  until,  like  Moses  before  the  burn- 
ing bush,  we  hide  our  face,  we  stretch  our  arms,  we  feel 
that  we  are  worms,  our  eyes  cannot  stand  the  splendor, 
the  rays  which  radiate  from  the  Holy  God ;  we  find  that 
we  are  nearer,  that  we  stand  before  the  loving  God,  of 
whose  nearnesss  we  are  unworthy, — whose  love  we  do 
not  deserve.  God  enters  our  own  hearts.  ,  .  .  Oh,  who 
can  describe  that !  Who  can  describe  the  love  and  near- 
ness of  God  ! 

Did  Moses  believe  that  a  fire  was  God,  when  he  hid 
his  face  before  the  burning  bush.^  When  we  are  im- 
pressed by  the  beauty  and  harmony  of  nature,  when  the 
rays  of  the  moon  elicit  sighs  from  our  breast,  and  we 
exclaim  that  we  see  God  in  nature,  do  we  believe  that 
the  moon  or  stars  or  anything  in  creation  is  God  }  We 
only  see  God  by  the  wisdom  and  harmony  which  we  per- 
ceive in  his  works.  So  when  we  yield  to  Christ,  when  we 
see  his  divinity,  we  do  not  worship  his  body,  but  the 
revelation  of  God  which  we  have  in  his  character,  in  his 
beauty  and  perfection.  We  are  drawn  to  God  even 
through  nature,  but  as  the  "I  "  separates  us, we  cannot 
reach  him,  we  only  see  the  Almighty,  from  whom  we  are 
so  far,  so  far.  We  yearn,  we  love,  we  sigh,  but  we  know 
mot  what  ails  us.  When  contemplating  those  silent  stars, 
we  feel  as  if  something  in  us  would  sigh  as  if  having 
a  dark  remembrance  of  better  times,  past  in  those  higher 
•spheres  of  calmness,  rest  and  love.  It  is  the  poor  soul's 
longing  for  her  loving  father.  It  is  an  insatiable  love, 
the  love  without  finding  its   object.     In  contemplating 


264  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

Christ's  character,  in  drinking  consolation  and  life  from 
his  lips,  the  longing  of  our  soul  also  awakens,  the  world 
of  the  higher  spheres  is  also  recalled  in  the  dark  mem- 
ory of  our  soul,  it  is  as  if  the  gates  of  heaven  were  opened, 
and  the  still  small  voice,  which  Elijah  heard  on  the  Mount 
of  Horeb,  reverberated  in  our  ears,  the  soul  arises  as  if 
from  a  dream,  the  longing  increases,  she  becomes  amazed 
and  finally  it  is  as  if  she  recognized  the  one  after  whom 
she  thirsted.     She  finds    the  beloved,   the    Father,   the 

friend,  the  dearest,  God She  casts  herself  down, 

and  prays,  "  Father  forgive,  for  I  have  forsaken  thy  cove- 
nant, I  am  thy  betrothed,  and  went  after  the  love  of  the 
world."  Tears  drop,  but  they  are  a  relief;  the  Beloved 
wipes  them  away.  Sighs  come  forth,  they  are  the  sighs 
of  love.  The  betrothed  is  in  the  arms  of  her  Husband. 
The  object  of  our  soul's  unknown  love  is  found,  recog- 
nized, the  love  is  satisfied.  The  soul  is  reconciled  to 
her  God,  the  (xod  of  love. 

When  one  sees  God  in  nature,  and  perceives  the  divine 
existence  through  nature's  beauty,  he  can  only  pity  the 
atheist  who  mocks  at  him.  So  when  one  sees  God  in 
Christ  and  the  world  mocks,  he  has  only  the  deepest 
compassion  with  the  one  who  cannot  see  what  he  sees 
himself.  And  indeed,  there  is  even  more  reason  to  see 
God  in  the  character  of  Christ  than  in  nature.  The 
revelation  of  God  in  Christ  is  more  conspicuous.  In 
the  revelation  in  Christ  alone  we  see  our  Almighty  Crea- 
tor as  the  God  of  love.  The  revelation  in  Christ  is  the 
culminating  point  of  monotheism.  For  here  God  is  not 
only  revealed  as  the  personal  God,  but  also  as  the  living 
love.     Monotheism  is  love.     God  as  revealed   in  nature 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  265 

is  rather  the  God  of  pantheism.  Our  weakness  and 
blindness,  which  are  caused  by  the  flesh,  our  depraved 
nature  prevents  us  finding  any  more  than  pantheism  in 
the  revelations  of  nature.  It  needed  the  supernatural, 
super-reasonable  revelation  of  Sinai  to  teach  us  God's 
personality,  and  supernatural  justice,  which  punishes  and 
rewards  after  a  law  which  is  higher  than  the  law  of  na- 
ture, after  an  incomprehensible  law.  Therefore  one  who 
does  not  believe  in  the  personal  God,  or  who  refuses  to 
believe  what  he  cannot  understand,  cannot  claim  to  be  a 
Jew,  for  the  Sinaitic  revelation  is  supernatural,  above 
reason,  and  teaches  the  personal  God,  whose  love  we  see 
in  Christ. 

The  Christian  church  teaches,  therefore,  that  the  man 
Jesus  united  with  God  is  the  Christ,  that  God  was 
in  the  man,  that  a  man  alone  cannot  be  the  Messiah,  the 
Saviour  and  Redeemer.  God  alone  can  save  and  re- 
deem, but  no  man. 

As  salvation  and  redemption  is  promised  to  Israel 
through  the  coming  of  a  Redeemer,  then  we  must  believe 
that  God  must  be  with  the  man  who  was  to  come,-  In 
Isaiah  xliii,  ii  :  the  Lord  said,  "  BESIDE  ME  THERE 
IS  NO  SAVIOUR  (MOSHIA.)  Again  in  xlix,  6  :  in 
speaking  to  the  servant  who  is  to  restore  the  preserved  of 
Israel,  and  to  be  the  light  to  the  Gentiles,  he  says, 
"THAT  THOU  MAYEST  BE  MY  SALVATION 
(YESHUATHI)  TO  THE  END  OF  THE  EARTH." 
Also  xlix,  7  :  and  in  many  other  places,  the  Lord  calls 
himself  the  REDEEMER,  while  in  lix,  20  :  we  read  : 
"  AND  THE  REDEEMER  SHALL  COME  TO  ZION, 
AND  UNTO  THEM  THAT  TURN  FROM  TRANS- 


266  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

GRESSION,"  etc.  We  see  therefore  that  God  must  be 
united  with  the  Redeemer  who  is  to  come.  For  if  God 
himself  is  the  Redeemer  and  Saviour  how  can  a  Re- 
deemer come  and  be  a  salvation  unless  God  is  with  him  .5^ 
The  mysterious  connection  between  God  and  man,  is 
not  more  incomprehensible  than  the  belief  of  almost 
every  man  that  soul  and  body  are  united  in  the  man. 
On  the  same  principle  that  men  perceive  and  believe 
that  there  is  an  immortal  soul  united  with  their  body., 
the  Christian  also  believes  that  God  Himself  was  united 
with  Jesus.  The  man  and  God  are  one  Christ.  Men  do 
not  know  any  more  of  the  substance  of  their  own  soul 
than  they  know  of  the  substance  of  God.  Many  call 
themselves  rationalists  and  refuse  to  believe  anything  su- 
pernatural, and  yet  they  believe  in  the  immortality  of 
their  own  soul.  Can  they  comprehend  it  1  No  matter  how 
many  books  philosophers  have  written  to  prove  the  im- 
mortality of  the  human  soul,  it  remains  incomprehensible. 
Men  only  believe  in  their  immortality  because  they  per- 
ceive it,  their  conscience  tells  them  of  it,  it  is  mysterious, 
incomprehensible.  Also  all  the  libraries  which  were  writ- 
ten to  bring  metaphysical  evidence  that  there  is  a  per- 
sonal God,  prove  nothing.  The  great  Jew,  the  greatest, 
clearest  and  purest  of  all  philosophers,  Spinoza,  excells 
them  all,  and  teaches  his  own  pantheism.  Nothing  can 
be  proved  but  our  conscience  proves  it.  Men  do  not 
believe  in  a  personal  God  because  philosophy  teaches  so, 
but  because  they  teach  so  themselves.  The  gods  of  the 
philosophers  do  not  live  long,  one  kills  the  other.  Kant 
created  his  own  god,  and  Hegel  made  a  new  one,  and  so 
those  gods  fight  and   eat  each   other  up  like  the  gods  of 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  267 

the  Olympus.  Only  the  God  of  Israel,  the  God  of  the 
Bible,  lives  forever.  Men  believe  in  the  immortality  of 
their  souls  and  in  the  personal  God  in  spite  of  reason 
with  its  philosophy,  only  on  account  of  conscience.  So 
the  Christian  believes  in  Christ's  divinity  because  he  per- 
ceives, he  feels  it.  He  perceives  the  love  of  the  God  of 
the  Bible. 

We  see,  therefore,  that  even  what  we  believe  without 
the  Bible  is  incomprehensible ;  why  must  we  comprehend 
the  religion,  which  is  to  be  the  supernatural  help  of  God  ? 
Is  the  Sinaitic  revelation  comprehensible  ?  The  Reform- 
ers surely  make  it  comprehensible  when  they  deny  it, 
but  then  they  become  incomprehensible  themselves.  Let 
a  Jew  who  believes  the  Bible  show  me  how  the  Old 
Testament  is  all  comprehensible,  then  he  may  ask  me  to 
show  how  the  New  is  according  to  reason.  I  have 
shown  sufficiently  that  Judaism  cannot  claim  to  be  com- 
prehensible. If  I  could  comprehend  God  I  would  surely 
need  no  religion;  nay,  I  would  be  God  himself.  I  have 
shown  before  that  it  cannot  be  our  object  to  comprehend 
the  religion;  we  only  want  evidences  to  believe  that  the 
things  incomprehensible  are  credible. 

If  one  feels  only  the  helpless  condition  of  his  own  poor 
soul  he  will  find  it  easy  to  trust  himself  in  the  hands  of 
Jesus.  We  are  so  weak,  so  helpless,  and  he  is  so  strong, 
he  is  the  greatest  victor  ;  he  was  victorious  over  himself 
He  is  the  greatest  conquerer;  he  conquered  his  flesh,  his 
earthly  life,  and  if  one  conquers  this  he  conquers  death. 
Spiritual  death  is  only  the  consequence  of  an  earthly  life. 
I  struggle  with  myself;  I  can  not  overpower  myself  I 
live  an   earthly  life ;  I  can  not  conquer  it,  and  have  to 


268  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

expect  the  consequences^death.     The  soul  goes   to  the 
element  by  which  it  is  attracted,  and  which  it  follows  in 
this  life.     It  goes  to  the  hollow,   burning,  and    cold  joys 
of  this  world  after  it   leaves  the   body,  and  it  finds  that 
there  exists,  not  only  a  personal  God,  but  also  a  personal 
Satan,  the  originator  of  these  joys.     And  I  am  so  M-eak, 
my  flesh  conquers  me,  my  life  kills  me ^  and  he  is  so  strong. 
Shall  I  not  allow  my  soul  to  be  attracted  by  him  .^  One  who 
could  manage  himself  and  come  out  so  glorious  is  also  able 
to    help    me    in    my    struggle     with    my    life.     I    am 
so  far  from  God  ;    how  far  we  are  from   God  !     He  is  so 
great  and  I  am  so  little.     He  is  so  high  and  I  am  so  low. 
He  is  so  pure  and  I  am  so  impure.     He  is  loving  and  I 
am  so  selfish ;   everything  is  self   in  us.     If   I    aspire  to 
God  I  can  not  reach  Him.    And  Jesus  is  so  near  to  Him. 
There  is    nothing  betvv^een  God  and   Him.     Shall  I  not 
eling  to  him  .^     I  am  without  hope  or  peace ;  I   am  rest- 
less, and  he  says,  "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and 
are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will   give  you  rest."     Shall  I  mis- 
trust him }     When  death  approaches,  when  his  mercyless 
hand   will   touch  our    shoulder,  when  a  fearful  chill  will 
run  through  every  one  of  our  nerves  ;  when  the  heart  will 
tremble  and  the  soul  shiver ;    when  the  shadow  of  death 
lowers    over  the    forehead,    and  we    have  to   leave    this 
world,  we  have  to  go  alone.     Nothing  to  cling  to,  nothin^^ 
to  take  along.     When  the  deeds  and  words  and  thoughts 
of  our  past  life  pierce    our    conscience ;    when    our  own 
life  is  so  dark,  will  not  then  the   life   of  Christ,  which  we 
love,  be  like  a  shining  star  over  our    death-bed  .''     When 
all  friendship  and    love  is  of  no    avail,  will    we  not  be 
proud  of  our  love  to  such  a  purity  like  the  character  of 


ORy    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  269 

Jesus  Christ  ?  When  we  have  to  be  ashamed  of  every  one 
of  our  deeds  and  thoughts,  is  there  no  reason  to  be  proud 
of  thinking  of  and  loving  such  a  pure  and  holy  life  as 
that  of  Jesus?  When  our  conscience  finds  us  guilty,  we 
shall  still  find  some  childlike  innocence  in  our  hearts, 
because  we  believed  that  living  innocence — Jesus  Christ? 
And  must  not  God  love  the  one  who  has  the  heart  to 
trust  and  to  believe  in  Jesus  ?  I^et  one  contemplate  the 
life  of  Jesus,  and  say  then  that  it  can  possibly  be  an  error 
or  a  wrong  to  follow  him,  and  to  believe  him  in  all  his 
claims. 

If  Jesus'  clain-v  is  idolatry,  then  the  belief  that  God  was 
on  Sinai,  or  that  he  wrestled  like  a  man  with  Jacob  is 
also  idolatry.  An  old  Grecian  philosopher,  believing  in 
one  omnipresent  invisible  God,  had  just  as  much  reason 
to  consider  Judaism  idolatry  or  to  say  that  the  Jews  be- 
lieved in  two  Gods,  because  they  believed  that  God  was 
on  Sinai  or  in  a  burning  bush.  The  belief  in  Christ's 
divinity  is  only  to  believe  that  God  cliose  the  man  to  be 
a  medium  to  reveal  His  divine  love.  And  we  shall  see 
whether  the  Bible  teaches  that  the  Redeemer  will  have  a 
divine  character.  Besides  the  above  cited  verses  which 
show  that  the  Messiah  must  be  of  a  divine  character,  I 
shall  cite  the  following  passages,  which  teach  it  most 
plainly. 

Is.  ix  :  "  The  people  that  walked  in  darkness  have  seen 
a  great  light :  they  that  dwell  in  the  land  of  the 
shadow  of  death,  upon  them  has  the  light  shined. 
Thou  hast  multiplied  the  nation  and  not  (or,  fo 
Mill)  increased  the  joy  :  they  joy  before  thee 
according  to  the  joy  in  harvest,  and  as  men 
rejoice  when  thev  divide  the  spoil.  P'or  thou  hast 
18 


270  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

broken  the  yoke  of  his  burden,  and  the  staff  of  his 
shoulder,  the  rod  of  his  oppressor,  as  in  the  day  of 
Midian.  For  every  battle  of  the  warrior  is  with 
confused  noise,  and  garments  rolled  in  blood;  but 
this  shall  be  with  burning  and  fuel  of  fire.  For 
unto  us  a  child  is  born  ;  unto  us  a  son  is  given,  and 
the  government  shall  be  upon  his  shoulder :  and 
his  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Counsellor, 
The  mighty  God,  The  everlasting  Father,  The 
Prince  of  Peace.  Of  the  increase  of  his  government 
and  peace  there  shall  be  no  end,  upon  the  throne 
of  David,  and  upon  his  kingdom,  to  order  it,  and 
to  establish  it  with  judgment  and  with  justice  fro'm 
henceforth  even  forever.  The  zeal  of  the  Lord  of 
hosts  will  perform  this." 

These  verses  of  the  Prophet  Isaiah  form  a  prophecy  of 
themselves.  With  the  follow^ing  verse  another  prophecy 
commences,  as  it  is  obvious  to  every  reader.  There  are 
rabbinical  passages  showing  that  they  took  this  prophecy 
to  be  an  allusion  to.  the  Messiah.  Also  some  of  the  old- 
est commentators  interpreted  it  in  the  same  sense.  The 
Hebrew  language  *does  not  permit  any  other  translation 
than  such  as  I  have  cited  without  coming  in  conflict  with 
its  grammar.  We  nmst  see  here  a  Messianic  passage,  for 
the  Prophet  promises  peace  without  an  end,  an  increased 
government,  upon  the  throne  of  Y)2cw\^  forever.  He  also 
begins  to  speak  of  a  great  light,  for  those  who  are  under 
the  shadow  of  death,  and  of  a  great  joy  for  breaking  the 
yoke  of  his  burden,  the  rod  of  his  oppressor,  why .?  Be- 
cause a  child  is  born  who  shall  be  cdWed  lVo?iderful  f 
Mighty  God !  Prince  of  Peace  I  And  the  consequence  is  : 
peace  without  end.  Who  can  be  meant  here  if  not  the 
Messiah }  Therefore  we  see  it  most  plainly  that  he  must 
have   a   divine    character.     And   because   it  is   too  plain 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  27 1 

that  a  divine  character  is  attributed  here  to  a  born  child, 
therefore  we  can  not  doubt  that  it  alludes  to  the  Mes- 
siah, besides  that  the  balance  of  the  things  promised  in 
the"  passage  can  only  be  expected  through  him.  Natur- 
ally the  Jews  must  interpret  the  verse  v/hich  gives 
divine  attributes  to  a  born  child  in  a  different  sense. 
Some  take  it  to  be  an  exaggeration,  but  this  is  not  natural 
in  the  language  to  exaggerate  so  much  as  to  give  such  attri- 
butes to  men.  We  find  no  other  example  of  that  kind  in  the 
Bible,  but  where  it  alludes  to  the  Messiah.  One  com- 
mentator of  the  middle  ages  said  that  Wonderful,  Coun- 
sellor, Mighty  God  and  Eternal  Father  are  all  in  the 
nominative,  but  Prince  of  Peace  is  in  the  objective.  The 
translation  would  be  then  :  "And  he  shall  be  called  by 
the  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  &c.:  Prince  of  Peace." 
Others  take  the  verb  in  the  active  form,  /.  <?.,  "  And  he 
shall  call,"  not  "  and  it  shall  be  called."  These  inter- 
pretations are  so  obviously  against  the  grammar  that 
even  Jews  show  the  impossibility  of  such  an  interpreia- 
tion.  Besides  that,  it  can  not  be  my  object  here  to  enter 
into  any  philological  discussions,  which  could  not  inter- 
est the  reader,  there  is  no  necessity  of  doing  it  since  I 
can  allude  to  Dr.  Herxheimer,  and  other  good 
Jewish  authorities  in  the  language,  who  show  that  our 
translation  is  the  only  one  according  to  the  grammar. 
The  idea  of  taking  thefirst  four  names  in  the  nominative  is 
so  obviously  against  the  language,  that  any  Hebraist 
must  find  it  perfectly  absurd.  And  the  fact  that  a  com- 
mentator could  try  to  pervert  the  language  so  absurdly 
shows  how  clearly  he  saw  how  the  simple  interpretation 
is  a  true  prediction  of  Christ ;   but  as  his  standpoint  is 


272  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    'RELIGION  , 

taken,  he  must  oppose  him,  therefore  he  will  rather  per- 
vert the  Bible,  for  he  must  contrive  something  to  show 
that  the  Bible  teaches  not  Christianity,  when  it  does.  Such 
perversions  show  that  the  Bible  did  not  prevent  the  Jews 
accepting  Christ,  but  on  the  contrary,  they  would  not 
follow  the  Bible,5  and  so  try  to  make  the  Bible  follow 
them.  Exactly  as  the  rationalists  cast  history  after  their 
own  pattern,  because  the  plain  history  contradicts  them, 
so  the  Jews  do  with  the  Bible.  I  only  ask  every  man 
who  understands  a  little  Hebrew,  is  it  possible  that  any 
commentator,  (whoever  he  is,  being  entirely  without 
books ;  I  do  not  recollect  what  one  it  is,  either  Redak  or 
Rashi),  would  pervert  any  other  passage  in  such  an  absurd 
manner  ?  Would  he  have  tried  such  a  perversion  of  this 
passage,  if  not  that  he  saw  the  plainest  Christianity  in  it.? 
Therefore  the  fact  that  they  so  obviously  and  absurdly 
pervert  the  Bible  indicates  what  the  plain  understanding 
of  it  would  teach.  A  Mr.  Leeser,  who  issued  an  English 
translation  of  the  Bible  in  this  country,  gives  this  same 
perversion,  and  I  believe  also  Dr.  Philipsohn.  I  am  not 
surprised  at  whatever  Leeser  said,  but  it  is  highly  aston- 
ishing that  Dr.  Philipsohn,  who  is  a  scholar,  could  tor- 
ture the  language  in  such  an  absurd  manner. 

Jews,  especially  the  Reformers,  say  that  this  passage 
alludes  to  King  Hezekiah,  and  the  divine  attributes  were 
only  an  exaggeration.  I  said  above  that  we  do  not  find  such 
exaggerations  in  Scripture,  but  even  the  exaggerations 
would  be  accepted  still  it  cannot  allude  to /Hezekiah, 
for  nothing  of  the  passage  can  be  applied  to  him.  Where 
is  the  great  light  to  be  seen  .?  Is  the  destruction  of 
the  Assyrian  army,  a  great  shining  light .''     Where  is  the 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  273 

increased  government,  the  peace  without  an  end,  and  for- 
ever ^  Why  is  Hezekiah  better  than  any  other  good 
king?  We  even  read  in  II  Chronicles,  xxxii,  25  :  "But 
Hezekiah  rendered  not  again  according  to  the  benefit 
done  unto  him  ;  for  his  heart  was  lifted  up  ;  therefore 
there  was  wrath  upon  him,  and  upon  Judah  and  upon 
Jerusalem."  Hezekiah's  time  was  not  so  glorious 
to  Judah.  They  were  finally  helped  from  the  hands  of 
Assyria,  but  they  had  trouble  enough.  We  find  nothing 
in  the  life  of  this  king  which  could  justify  such  attributes, 
even  as  an  exaggeration.  For  instance,  "^/  Gibbor'' 
which  means  always  Mighty  God,  they  translate  here, 
"mighty  hero."  Where  do  we  find  that  Hezekiah  was 
such  a  mighty  hero  1  In  his  troubles  he  had  to  send  to 
Isaiah  to  pray  for  him.  Was  he  a  hero  because  the  angel 
killed  the  army  of  the  enemy  in  one  night  .^  Let  an  im- 
partial man,  after  reading  the  life  of  Hezekiah  and  this 
passage,  say  that  it  is  possible  that  this  extraordinary 
prophecy  could  allude  to  him.  Let  any  one  who  ever 
read  the  Bible  in  Hebrew  say  that  it  is  possible  that  a  man 
could  say  "^/  Gibbor^''  meaning  mighty  hero.  In  the 
very  next  chapter,  verse  9,  we  read,  "  The  remnant  shall 
return,  the  remnant  of  Jacob  to  the  Mighty  God  El 
Gibbor."  Shall  the  remnant  return  to  the  "  mighty  hero.'*" 
Jewish  nation  !  In  the  name  of  our  God,  how  can  you 
deceive  yourselves  so  much }  Our  Bible  is  not  only 
true,  but  given  to  us  by  our  God  with  signs  and  won- 
ders. We  were  chosen  by  the  Creator  of  heaven  and 
earth  to  receive  this  Bible,  it  offers  us  everlasting  life  for 
our  souls,  we  have  souls  and  deserve  to  go  to  destruction 
on  account  of  our  corrupted  life,  and  this  Bible  offers  us 


274  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

actually  everlasting  life.  It  shows  the  way  to  God.  How 
can  you  be  so  indifferent  ?  In  the  name  of  everything, 
for  the  sake  of  your  children,  see,  open  your  eyes  and 
see,  it  is  not  according  to  our  reason,  but  it  is  in  our 
Bible,  ours,  the  Jewish  Bible,  it  deserves  to  be  believed, 
it  must  be  believed,  and  it  predicts  a  born  child  who  is 
at  the  same  time  the  Almighty  God,  it  is  a  fact.  No  man 
can  object  to  the  above  translation  as  being  in  the  least 
against  the  Hebrew  language.  No  one  of  the  opposi- 
tion, says  that  this  translation  is  faulty,  they  only  give 
their  faulty  translations  in  order  to  avoid  belief  in  the 
plain  Bible.  The  Bible  cannot  have  any  other  meaning. 
Is  it  possible  that  the  Prophet  promises  such  a  glory  in 
connection  with  a  born  r///A/?  and  this  child  was  only 
Hezekiah.  If  Hezekiah  had  been  such  a  great  hero, 
there  would  still  be  no  glory  at  his  h'rl/i.  The  Prophet 
expresses  so  much  joy  because  "^  child  is  born.''  Let  it 
sound  foolish,  absurd,  but  it  is  God's  wilL  Why  shall 
you  deceive  yourselves  ?  Every  single  other  interpreta- 
tion of  this  passage  is  not  only  false,  but  even  absurd. 
There  is  only  one  effort  made  to  give  another  meaning  to 
this  prophecy  which  does  not  sound  absurd,  but  it  is  not 
less  false.  Some  say,  namely  :  that  the  names  wonder- 
ful, etc.,  are  only  names,  by  which  the  child  shall  be 
called,  but  do  not  indicate  his  character.  The  passage 
alludes  to  the  Messiah,  and  still  does  not  allude  to  his 
divine  character.  This  is  not  absurd,  for  we  find  an  in- 
stance in  Scripture,  that  Jacob  named  an  altar  "  El  Eloha 
Israel,"  "  God,  the  God  of  Israel."  Thus  it  could  be 
possible  that  a  child  should  be  called  by  the  name  "  El 
Gibbor,"  etc.     But  this  could  be  supposed  when  a  child 


OK,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  275 

born  would  have  been  called  by  these  names,  when  the 
names  would  have  actually  been  given  to  some  person, 
but  here  it  is  a  prophecy,  it  has  to  mean  something.  How 
■can  the  Prophet  predict  a  name  when  no  one  is  ever 
called  so  ?  What  are  'these  words  for  if  they  mean 
nothing,  nor  is  any  one  called  by  them  ?  Besides,  why 
are  Jive  such  names  given,  and  what  sense  would  the 
whole  passage  have  ?  It  breathes  so  much  joy  about  a 
child  and  then  tells  me  his  names,  which  have  no  mean- 
ing, and  by  which  it  never  was  called  even.  We  see, 
therefore,  that  they  must  mean  to  assign  the  character, 
and  if  they  do  this  then  how  can  we  refuse  to  believe  in 
Christ's  divinity,  when  we  claim  to  believe  our  Bible  ? 
How  can  one  call  it  idolatry  if  the  Jewish  Bible  teaches 
it  ?  For  your  life's  sake,  it  is  the  most  serious  matter 
to  examine. 

The  above  passage  would  alone  be  sufficient  to  prove 
the  doctrine  of  incarnation  to  be  biblical,  but  we  shall 
find  others.  Read  Is.  xi.  where  the  Messiah,  the  branch 
of  David  is  also  promised,  and  the  Prophet  says,  "  The 
spirit  of  the  Lord  shall  rest  upon  him."  The  Jews  ask  why 
the  promise  of  peace,  which  it  predicted  in  the  same 
chapter,  is  not  fulfilled.  "  The  wolf  shall  dwell  with  the 
lamb,"  etc.,  and,  "  They  shall  beat  their  swords  into 
ploughshares,"  etc.  This  chapter  contains  very  plain 
promises  that  the  wars  shall  cease.  lUit  when  we  have 
a  sufficiency  of  other  passages  proving  Jesus  to  be  the 
Christ,  then  we  can  believe  him  concerning  what  he  said 
about  his  second  coming.  Especially  since  we  can  see 
that  the  Christian  doctrines  contain  the  germ  of  peace. 
If  all  the  nations  would  be  true  Christians,  I  believe  that 


276  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

war  would  be  impossible  to-day.  The  trouble  is  that 
there  are  too  few  real  Christians,  the  remnant  of  Israel 
is  not  numerous.  And  especially,  Christianity  is  not 
really  established  until  Christ's  people,  the  Jews,  have 
accepted  him.  They  must  show  the  Gentiles  how  to  be 
in  earnest  with  religion,  how  to  believe  Christ  with  the 
heart.  The  Gentiles  cannpt  enter  into  the  full  spirit  of 
the  Jewish  Messiah.  It  takes  the  Jewish  nation,  the 
people  of  God,  the  people  with  heart,  to  establish  the 
right  church.  There  is  too  much  of  aristocracy,  too 
much  of  the  foolish  national  conceit,  too  much  of  the 
thing  called  patriotism,  which  keeps  the  man  on  a  plat- 
form of  narrowness,  and  does  not  allow  him  to  ascend 
the  lofty  platform  of  universal  right  and  love,  of  humani- 
ty. The  more  they  are  Americans  and  Englishmen  and 
Germans,  etc.,  the  less  theyare  MEN.  The  Jews  used 
to  be  accused  of  being  no  patriots,  no  soldiers,  they  de- 
nied it.  But  it  is  true,  and  I  say  it  with  pride,  I  am  no 
patriot,  the  globe  is  my  fatherland  and  I  despise  soldier- 
ship, and  so  does  every  Jew,  who  is  genuine.  We  are 
no  patriots,  and  we  are  able  to  see  the  wrongs  and  cor- 
ruptions of  our  respective  countries,  for  we  are  not 
blinded  by  partiality.  We,  the  Jews,  despise  your  hollow 
refinement,  ye  nations  of  the  civilized  world,  ye  people  of 
diplomacy.  Only  in  the  unspoiled  Jewish  nation  is  yet 
the  material  to  be  found  for  the  future  Christian  nation. 
There  is  no  Christian  nation  in  the  world,  nor  ever  shall 
be,  besides  God's  people,  and  then  wars  will  have  an  end. 
The  Jews  who  are  diplomats  and  brave  soldiers  to-day, 
are  no  genuine  Jews,  they  are  amphibious.  The  Jews, 
the  ful]  Jews,  will  establish  the  full  church. 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  277 

Jeremiah,  xxxiii  15:  "  Behold  the  days  come,  saith  the 
Lord,  that  I  will  raise  unto  David  a  righteous 
Branch,  and  a  king  shall  reign  and  prosper,  and 
shall  execute  judgment  and  justice  in  the  earth. 
In  his  days  Judah  shall  be  saved,  and  Israel 
shall  dwell  safely,  and  this  is  the  name  whereby 
he  shall  be  called  :  Jehovah  our  Righteousness.'''' 

In  chapter  xxxiii  we  find  nearly  the  same  words. 
Some  say  that  "Jehovah"  is  here  in  the  nominative,  but 
it  is  shown  that  v/e  cannot  translate  differently  than  the 
cited  translation  according  to  grammar.  The  Thargum 
interprets  in  accordance  with  it.  Others  admitting  that 
the  passage  teaches  that  the  Messiah  shall  be  called  "Je- 
hovah our  Rightousness,"  claim  that  it  is  only  a  name, 
as  in  Is.  ix.  We  have  seen  that  it  is  not  reasonable.  Es- 
pecially since  we  find  other  passages  teaching  the  divinity 
of  the  Messiah,  where  we  cannot  say  that  it  is  a  name. 
There  is  no  reason  to  force  ourselves  here. 


Zech.  xii :  8  :  "  In  that  day  shall  the  Lord  defend  the 
inhabitants  of  Jerusalem ;  and  he  that  is  feeble 
among  them  at  that  day  shall  be  as  David  ;  and 
the  house  of  David  shall  be  as  God,  as  the  angel 
of  the  Lord  before  them.  And  it  shall  come  to 
pass  in  that  day,  that  I  will  seek  to  destroy  all 
the  nations  that  come  against  Jerusalem.  And  I 
will  pour  upon  the  house  of  David,  and  upon  the 
inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  the  spirit"'^  of  grace  and 
of  supplications:  and  THEY  SHALL  LOOK 
UPON  ME  WHOM  THEY  HAVE  PIERCED, 
and  they  shall  mourn  for  him,  as  one  mourneth 
for  his  only  son,  and  shall  be  in  bitterness  for  him, 
as  one  that  is  in  bitterness  for  his  first  born." 

"  ch.  xiii  17:  "  Awake,  O  sword,  against  my  Shep- 
herd, and  against  THE  MAN  THAT  IS  MY 
FELLOW,  SAITH  THE    LORD  OF  HOSTS: 


270  MIND    AND    HKART    IN     RELIGlOxV  ; 

smite  the  shepherd,  and  the  sheep  shall  be  scat- 
tered, and  I  will  turn  mine  hand  upon  the  little 
ones."  etc. 

Can  the  crucified  Christ  be   predicted  more   plainly  ? 
Who  is  the  man,  God's  fellow.?     (Geber  Emithi.) 

Micah,  v:  2:  "But  thou  Beth-lehem  Ephratah,  though  thou 
be  little  among  the  thousands  of  Judah,  yet  out  of 
thee  shall  he  come  forth  unto  me  that  is  to  be 
ruler  in  Israel;  ivhose goijigs  forth  have  been  from 
of  old,  from  everlasting.'' 

This  passage  is  considered  Messianic  also  by  the  Jews. 

Malachi,  ii :  5  :  "  My  covenant  was  with  him  of  life  and 
peace ;  and  I  gave  them  to  him  for  the  fear  where- 
with he  feared  me,  and  was  afraid  before  my  name. 
The  law  of  truth  was  in  his  mouth,  and  iniquity 
was  not  found  in  his  lips  :  he  walked  with  me  in 
peace  and  equity,  and  did  turn  many  away  from 
iniquity.  For  the  priest's  lips  should  keep  knowl- 
edge, and  they  should  seek  the  law  at  his  mouth ; 
for  he  is  the  messenger  (or  angel)  of  the  Lord  of 
hosts.  But  ye  are  departed  out  of  the  way;  ye 
have  caused  many  to  stumble  at  the  law ;  ye 
have  corrupted  the  covenant  of  Levy,  saith  the 
Lord  of  hosts.  Therefore  have  I  also  made  you 
contemptible  and  base  before  all  the  people,  ac- 
cording as  ye  have  not  kept  my  ways,  but  have 
been  partial  in  the  law." 

ch.  iii:  i  :  "  Behold  I  will  send  my  messenger,  and 
he  shall  prepare  the  way  before  me :  and  the  Lord, 
whom  ye  seek,  shall  suddenly  come  to  his  temple, 
even  the  messenger  (or  angel)  of  the  covenant 
whom  ye  delight  in  :  behold  he  shall  come  saith 
the  Lord  of  hosts.  But  who  may  abide  the  day 
of  his  coming.?  and  who  shall  stand  when  he  ap- 
peareth  ?  for  he  is  like  a  refiner's  fire,  and  like 
fuller's  soap." 

Malachi,  the  last  Prophet,  spoke  in  the  time  of  the  sec- 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  279 

cond  temple,  and  prophesied  of  the  coming  of  the  angel 

of  the  covenant.     I  think  there  must  be  some  rabbinical 

passages   considering  this    prophecy   of    Malachi   to    be 

Messianic. 

Ps.  ii :  I  :  "  Why  do  the  heathen  rage,  and  the  people 
imagine  a  vain  thing  ? 

2.  The  kings  of  the  earth  set  themselves,  and  the  rul- 
ers take  counsel  together,  against  the  Lord,  and  against 
his  Anointed,  sayings 

3.  Let  us  break  their  bands  asunder,  and  cast  away 
their  cords  from  us. 

4.  He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall  laugh  ;  the  Lord 
shall  have  them  in  derision. 

5.  Then  shall  he  speak  unto  them  in  his  wrath,  and  vex 
them  in  his  sore  displeasure. 

6.  Yet  have  I  set   my  King  upon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion. 

7.  I  will  declare  the  decree;  the  Lord  hath  said  unto 
me.  Thou  art  my  Son;  this  day  have  I  begotten  thee. 

8.  Ask  of  me  and  I  shall  give  thee  the  heathen  for 
thine   inheritance,  and  the  uttermost   parts   of  the  earth 

for  thy  possession. 

9.  Thou  shalt  break  them  with  a  rod  of  iron  ;  thou 
shalt  dash  them  in  pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel. 

10.  Be  wise  now  therefore,  O  ye  kings :  be  instructed, 
ye  judges  of  the  earth. 

11.  Serve  the  Lord  with  fear,  and  rejoice  with  trem- 
bling. 

12.  Kiss  the  Son,  lest  he  be  angry,  and  ye  perish  from 
the  way,  when  his  wrath  is  kindled  but  a  little.  Blessed 
are  all  they  that  put  their  trust  in  him," 

Some  of  the  ancient  Jewish  commentators,  and  I  think 
also  the  Midrash,  take  this  to  be  a  Messianic  chapter. 
But  yet,  Jews  call  it  idolatry  to  believe  that  the  Messiah 
is  the  Son  God,  and  here  David  says  "  KISS  THE  SON." 
The  language  of  the  chapter  makes  it  very  clear  that  no 
one  can  be  meant  but  the  Messiah,  who  is  called  the  Son. 
Later,    Jewish  commentators,  also     the  rationalists,   say 


28o  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

that  this  chapter  speaks  of  King  Solomon,  and  the  ex- 
pression "  Son  "  is  an  exaggeration,  because  in  Samuel  the 
Lord  said  that  Solomon  should  be  to  him  like  a  son.  It 
is  a  great  difference,  though,  between  saying,  ^^  thou  art 
my  son^"  and"//*?  shall  beta  me  LIKE  a  so?i  {^''beni  atha'' 
and  ^^  Vbeny)  Further  we  read,  ^^  Kiss  the  son  lest  he  be 
angry  ^  and  ye  perish  by  the  way''  Obviously  it  alludes  to 
the  Son's  being  angry.  But  they  say  it  means  God  will 
become  angry.  Even  if  we  could  admit  this,  yet  we  can 
not  see  why  one  shall  perish  if  he  does  not  submit  to 
Solomon.  Nor  do  we  find  that  the  nations  raged  against 
Solomon,  but  they  did,  and  do  yet  rage  against  Christ. 
There  is  no  need  to  show  that  this  chapter  can 
not  allude  to  Solomon  ;  the  language  speaks  for  itself. 
One  of  the  old  commentators,  seeing  that  it  is  a  Messi- 
anic chapter,  and  knowing  that  "kiss  the  Son"  is  the 
plainest.  Christianity,  instead  of  becoming  a  Christian 
after  such  a  conviction,  he  rather  perverted  the  words, 
"  Nashku  bar,"  (which  can  mean  nothing  else  but  kiss 
the  Son),  into  "  be  armed  with  pure  hearts."  The  per- 
version is  so  childish  that  it  shows  that  he  was  perfectly 
convinced  that  the  plain  translation  teaches  Christ,  else 
he  would  not  have  thought  of  such  a  ridiculous  perver- 
sion. 

Ps.  xlv:  1  :  "My  heart  is  inditing  a  good  matter:  I 
speak  of  the  things  which  I  have  made  t9uching  the 
King :  my  tongue  is  the  pen  of  the  ready  writer. 

2.  Thou  art  fairer  than  the  children  of  men:  grace  is 
poured  into  thy  lips  :  therefore  God  hath  blessed  thee 
forever. 

3.  Gird  thy  sword  upon  thy  thigh,  O  most  Mighty,  with 
thy  glory  and  thy  majesty. 

4.  And  in  thy   majesty    ride  prosperously,  because  of 


OR,  JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  281 

truth  and  meekness  and  righteousness;    and  thy    right 
hand  shall  teach  thee  terrible  things. 

5.  Thine  arrows  are  sharp  in  the  heart  of  the  King's 
enemies ;  whereby  the  people  fall  under  thee. 

6.  Thy  throne,  O  God, 7>  forever  and  ever;  the  scep- 
tre of  thy  kingdom  is  a  right  sceptre. 

7.  Thou  lovest  righteousness,  and  hatest  wickedness: 
therefore  God,  thy  God,  hath  anointed  thee  with  the  oil 
of  gladness  above  thy  fellows. 

8.  All  thy  garments  smell  of  myrrh,  and  aloes,  and 
cassia,  out  of  the  ivory  palaces,  whereby  they  have  made 
thee  glad. 

9.  Kings'  daughters  were  among  thy  honourable 
women:  upon  thy  right  hand  did  stand  the  queen  in  gold 
of  Ophir. 

10.  Hearken,  O  daughter,  and  consider,  and  incline 
thine  ear;  forget  also  thine  own  people,  and  thy  father's 
house ; 

11.  So  shall  the  King  greatly  desire  thy  beauty  :  for  he 
is  thy  Lord;  and  worship  thou  him. 

12.  And  the  daughter  of  Tyre  shall  be  there  with  a 
gift ;  even  the  rich  among  the  people  shall  entreat  thy  fa- 
vour. 

13.  The  King's  daughter  is  all  glorious  within:  her 
clothing  is  of  wrought  gold. 

14.  She  shall  be  brought  unto  the  King  in  raiment  of 
needlework  :  the  virgins  her  companions  that  follow  her 
shall  be  brought  unto  thee. 

15.  With  gladness  and  rejoicing  shall  they  be  brought: 
they  shall  enter  into  the  King's  palace. 

16.  Instead  of  thy  fathers  shall  be  thy  children,  whom 
thou  mayest  make  princes  in  all  the  earth. 

17.  I  will  make  thy  name  to  be  remembered  in  all  gen- 
erations :  therefore  shall  the  people  praise  thee  for  ever 
and  ever." 

The  Thargum,  Rabbi  Saadiah,  and  I  believe  also  the 
Midrash,  take  this  chapter  to  be  an  address  to  the  Messi- 
ah. And  the  psalmist  addresses  him  :  ''  Thy  throne^  O 
God^  is  for  ever  and  ever ;   the  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom  is  a 


282  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION; 

right  sceptre.  Thou  lovest  righteousness^  and  hatest  wicked- 
ness: therefore  God  thy  God  hath  anointed  thee"  etc.  The 
addressed  person  is  God,  and  at  the  same  time  anointed 
by  God.  This  is  the  plainest  indication  of  the  double 
character  of  the  Messiah,  who,  as  we  have  said  in  the  last 
chapter,  can  be  no  one  else  but  Jesus.  All  the  unbeliev- 
ing Hebraists,  especially  Gesenius,  do,  all  they  can  to 
pervert  these  two  verses,  but  in  vain.  The  language  is 
so  plain  and  decided  that  any  kind  of  a  perversion  is 
obviously  such.  The  rationalists  say  that  the  chapter  is 
addressed  to  some  king  at  his  wedding,  because  it  speaks 
of  the  king's  bride  and  wife.  The  Reformers  surely  be- 
lieve such  things.  As  if  this  was  the  only  place  where 
the  believers  are  called  God's  bride  and  wife!  How 
many  times  God  calls  Himself  the  Husband.  Such  inter- 
pretations need  no  refutation ;  they  are  too  much  against 
the  spirit  of  the  Holy  Book,  and  especially  against  this 
very  chapter.  It  makes  no  difference  whether  such  a 
learned  man  like  Gese,nius  says  it  or  not.  It  is  only  sur- 
prising to  see  that  a  venerable,  estimable  Rabbi  like 
Herxheimer  can  copy  such  stuff. 

Ps.  xci :  "He  that  dwelleth  in  the  secret  place  of  the 
Most  High  shall  abide(or  abideth)under  the  shadow 
of  the  Almighty.  I  will  say  of  the  Lord,  He  is  my 
refuge  and  my  fortress,  my  God  in  him  will  I 
trust,"  etc. 

Who  is  the  one  who  dwelleth  in  the  secret  place  of  the 
Most  High,  and  is  at  the  same .  time  God,  the  refuge.^ 
This  chapter  cannot  possibly  be  understood  in  any  other 
way  but  that  the  first  verse  means  Christ,  and  in  the  second 
he  calls  him  God.  The  following  verses  describe  the  lot 
of  the  believer,  and  in  the  last  three  verses  Christ  answers  : 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  283. 

"  Because  he  has  set  his  love  upon  me'  therefore  will  I  de- 
liver him,"  etc.  Taking  the  Hebrew  text,  we  cannot 
make  out  the  connection  of  the  chapter  in  any  other 
sense. 

Ps.  ex  :  I  :  "  A  psalm  of  David.  The  Lord  said  unto 
my  Lord,  sit  thou  at  my  right  hand,  until  I  make 
thine  enemies  thy  footstool.  The  Lord  shall  send 
the  rod  of  thy  strength  out  of  Zion  :  rule  thou  in 
the  midst  of  thine  enemies.  Thy  people  shall  be 
willing  in  the  day  of  thy  power,  in  the  beauties  of 
holiness  from  the  womb  of  the  morning:  thou  hast 
the  dew  of  thy  youth.  The  Lord  hath  sworn,  and 
will  not  repent.  Thou  art  a  priest  forever  after 
the  order  of  Malkizedek,"  etc. 

See  Math,  xxii  :  43-45  :  and  Hebrews  vi.  and  vii.  The 
Messiah  is  not  only  King  but  also  Priest,  everlasting 
Priest,  as  is  also  indicated  in  Malachi  II.  The  learned 
rationalists  have  no  little  trouble  in  trying  to  interpret 
the  High  Priest  after  the  order  of  Malkizedek,  who  is  at 
the  same  time  a  king  sitting  near  God.  Seeing  such  a 
plain  Christian  chapter  they  must  claim  that  it  was  not 
written  by  David,  but  by  some  other  person  and  only  ad- 
dressed to  him.  But  the  superscription  is,  "  A  psalm  of 
David  "  (Mismor  1'  David).  What  psalm  is  written  by 
David  if  this  is  not  ?  Now,  if  it  is  only  addressed  fo 
David  they  are  embarrassed  about  the  words,  "  T/iou  art 
a  priest  forever  after  the  order  of  Malkizdek,''  ^mcQ  Da- 
vid was  no  priest.  They  say  therefore,  that  the  word 
'^  Kolwn''  does  not  mean  "priest"  here,  but  servant, 
consequently  Malkizedek  was  not  a  priest  but  a  servant 
to  the  Most  High.  Not  to  speak  of  the  violence  which 
the  Hebrew  language  suffers,  I  only  feel  sorry  that  my 
Forefather   Abraham  gave   tithes  of  everything  to  Mai- 


284  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

kizedek  who  was  no  priest.     Abraham   must  have  made 
a  big  mistake  in  taking  poor  Malkizedek  to  be  a  priest. 

There  are  many  psahiis  having  a  special  reference  to 
Christ,  indeed  the  spirit  of  all  the  psalms  is  a  Christian 
spirit.  No  man  can  really  understand  David's  yearning 
without  Jesus.  Ps.  Ixviii :  18-21:  cannot  be  understood 
unless  in  the  sense  as  it  is  interpreted  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment." 


Job,  xix  :  23  :  "  Oh  that  my  words  were  now  written  ! 
oh  that  they  were  printed  in  a  book.  That  they 
were  graven  with  an  iron  pen  and  lead  in  the  rock 
forever.  For  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth, 
and  that  he  shall  stand  at  the  latter  day  upon  the 
earth.  And  though  after  my  skin  worms  destroy 
this  body,  yet  in  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God." 

This  is  plainly  predicting  that  the  Redeemer  shall 
stand  upon  the  earth,  and  also  that  there  Avill  be  a  resur- 
rection of  the  body. 

Proverb,  xxx  :  4:  "  Who  hath  ascended  up  into  heaven, 
or  descended  ?  who  hath  gathered  the  wind  in  his 
fists  ?  who  hath  bound  the  waters  in  a  garment  ? 
who  hath  established  all  the  ends  of  the  earth  ? 
what  is  his  name  and  what  is  his  Son's  name,  if 
thou  canst  tell  ?  " 

The  Bible,  we  see,  speaks  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  as  I 
have  mentioned  above,  the  Jew  Philo  explains  it  in  the 
same  sense  as  the  Christians  do. 

Dan.  vii  :  13  :  "I  saw  in  the  night  visions,  and  behold, 
one  like  the  son  of  man  came  with  the  clouds 
of  heaven,  and  came  to  the  Ancient  of  days,  and 
they  brought  him  near  before  him.  And  there  was 
given  him  dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  kingdom, 
that   all   peo])le,   nations,   and    languages,  should 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  285 

serve  him  :  his  dominion  is  an  everlasting  domin- 
ion, which  shall  not  pass  away,  and  his  kingdom 
that  which  shall  not  be  destroyed." 

Let  all  the  world  say  that  the  prophecies  of  Daniel 
terminate  with  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  still  this  Son  of 
Man,  who  came  with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  received 
the  everlasting  kingdom,  is  no  one  else  but  the  Son  of 
Man  of  the  New  Testament  who  was  crucified.  Even 
some  of  the  old  Rabbis  considered  that  this  Son  of  Man 
is  the  Messiah.  After  Daniel  saw  the  four  governments 
of  Babylon,  Persia,  Greece  and  Rome,  he  saw  the  Son  of 
Man  coming.     Compare  this  chapter  with  Daniel  II. 

If  one  desires  to  see  the  truth,  he  can  see  enough  in 
these  passages  of  Scripture  which  I  have  cited.  We  have 
seen,  that  it  is  a  historical  fact  that  Jesus  claimed  to  be 
the  Son  of  God,  and  we  also  see  that  his  claim  was  ac- 
cording to  the  Bible.  If  it  is  idolatry,  then  the  Jewish 
Bible  teaches  to  serve  idols.  If  a  man  finds  Christ  he 
knows  though,  how  far  it  is  from  idolatry,  and  how  near  it  is 
to  God.  I  ask  my  people  if  it  is  possible  that  all  these 
passages  do  not  prophecy  Christ } 

As  a  conclusion,  we  shall  speak  of  the  Christian  doc- 
trine of  atonement  in  the  next  chapter. 


19 


286  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  : 


CHAPTER  XV. 
THE  BIBLICAL  ATONEMENT. 

''•  I,  even  I,  am  he  that  blotteth  out  thy  transgressions  for  [mine  own  sake,  and 
will  not  remember  thy  sins."     Is.  xliii  :  25. 

I  have  already  said  that  the  purpose  of  a  religion  can 
only  be  to  make  atonement  before  God.  Since  religion 
is  only  given  to  a  sinning  race,  it  must  give  us  the  means 
by  which  we  can  attain  forgiveness  of  sins.  I  want  a  re- 
ligion because  I  am  a  sinner.  My  sins  are  between  me 
and  God.  If  I  was  no  sinner  I  should  need  no  religion, 
consequently  if  the  religion  is  not  the  way  to  remove  our 
sins  it  is  no  religion.  We  have  also  seen  that  our  relig- 
ion must  necessarily  be  incomprehensible,  because  if  it 
only  taught  me  according  to  reason  then  I  would  not 
need  it.  My  nature  is  depraved,  so  that  I  cannot  be 
with  God  if  I  have  no  other  guide  but  reason,  and  I  want 
a  supernatural  way  from  God  because  my  reason  does  not 
suffice.  Now  if  it  is  supernatural  it  is  super-reasonable, 
for  my  reason  is  in  nature.  God  would  not  tell  me  any- 
thing which  I  could  find  out  myself,and  if  it  was  reasonable 
I  could  find  it  out  by  study  and  thinking.  In  short, 
God's  revelation  must  give  me  something  in  addition  to 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  287 

my  reason,  else  there  would  be  no  need  for  His  revelation. 
But  how  can  I  tell  whether  the  supernatural  teaching, — 
the  thing  given  in  addition  to  my  reason, — is  true?  If  it 
is  not  reasonable,  how  can  I  know  that  it  is  true }  I 
must  surely  believe,  what  I  cannot  understand,  but  I  can- 
not believe  everything.  I  said,  therefore,  that  reason 
must  find  out  which  is  the  way  given  by  God,  so  that  we 
can  believe  without  understanding  it.  In  order  to  enable 
us  to  know  which  was  His  religion,  God  worked  such 
stupendous  miracles  that  we  must  see  that  they  are  from 
Him.  He  worked  miracles  until  His  religion  was  estab- 
lished. As  soon  as  He  had  prepared  and  predicted  His 
religion  the  miracles  also  ceased.  The  work  is  finished. 
In  order  to  enable  us  to  know  that  those  miracles  are 
true,  He  left  witnesses  in  history  so  that  we  cannot  help 
seeing  that  supernatural  things  must  have  happened. 
The  witnesses  are  the  children  of  Israel  and  the  church, 
as  we  have  seen.  The  proofs  we  have  cited  convince  the 
mind  that  the  Christian  religion  must  be  from  God.  And 
he  who  is  convinced  finds  also  the  best  evidence  in  his 
own  heart ;  he  finds  the  atonement  in  his  heart.  There- 
fore when  the  Lord  spoke  from  the  burning  Sinai  he  said, 
"  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  which  hrought  thee  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt y  Ex.  xx  :  2  :  He  did  not  say,  which 
created  heaven  and  earth,  but  "  which  brought  thee  out  of 
the  land  of  Egypt''  That  is,  I  give  you  a  religion  which 
must  be  believed,  not  on  account  of  philosophy,  because 
you  can  see  there  is  a  God  from  your  own  reason.  No, 
what  your  reason  teaches  suffices  not.  I  give  you  my 
law  which  you  cannot  understand,  but  you  must  believe^ 
because  I   have  brought  you   out  of  the  land  of  Egypt. 


256  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

God  brought  the  children  of  Israel  out  of  Egypt  with 
signs  and  miracles,  by  a  supernatural  working.  He  even 
hardened  the  heart  of  Pharaoh,  that  He  might  show  His 
signs.  Did  God  work  miracles,  did  He  redeem  us  from 
Egypt  in  order  that  we  should  be  Reformers,  and  say, 
''do  not  believe  what  you  cannot  understand  "?  Does 
He  preserve  the  Jewish  nation  in  order  that  we  may  know 
that  He  created  heaven  and  earth  ?  No,  He  said  to  Moses 
"  that  thou  mayest  tell  in  the  ears  of  thy  son,  and  of  thy 
son's  son,  what  things  I  have  wrought  in  Egypt,  and  my 
signs  which  I  liave  done  among  them  ;  that  ye  may  know 
that  I  am  the  Lord."  Ex.  x:  2,  A  great  number  of 
times  the  Lord  emphasizes  that  He  is  God  who  worked 
the  miracles.  To  believe  in  the  God  of  Israel,  means  to 
believe  that  God  worked  and  taught  things  above  reason. 
This  is  the  sum  of  what  we  find  in  this  book. 

Now,  the  redemption  from  Egypt  and  the  other  mira- 
cles are  not  religion  yet,  they  were  only  the  introduction, 
the  proof  that  we  may  believe  the  law.  The  religion,  as 
I  said,  is  only  the  way  of  atonement.  After  the  redemp- 
tion of  Egypt  He  said,  "  I  am  the  God  who  brought 
thee  out,"  and  then  gave  His  religion.  We  have  already 
seen  that  God  only  promised  atonement  through  the  blood 
of  the  sacrifices.  It  is  by  no  means  comprehensible,  but 
God  revealed  a  myster\^,  that  he  cleanses  from  sin  by 
blood.  We  cannot  expect  to  comprehend  it.  Now,  as 
the  law  was  only  given  to  Israel,  and  God,  as  the  Father 
of  mankind,  finished  His  religion  by  sending  a  Saviour 
for  every  man  who  accepts  him,  and  we  find  in  Daniel 
ix.  that  the  end  of  sins  is- promised  with  the  Messiah,  and 
as  this  Messiah  is  the  law  embodied,  therefore  we  find  in 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  289 

the  blood  of  this  Messiah  the  finishing  of  the  redemption, 
as  much  as  we  found  the  sacrifices  to  be  the  integrity  of 
the  Mosaic  law.  I  do  not  try  to  find  any  reasons  why 
God  needed  the  blood,  it  is  enough  to  know  that  He  said 
so.  To  Moses  He  said,  that  He  gave  the  blood  for  a 
cleansing,  and  to  Christ  he  said : 

Zechariah  ix  :  2  :  "As  for  thee  (or,  also  thou)  by  the 
blood  of  thy  covenant  I  have  sent  forth  thy  pris- 
oners from  the  pit  wherein  is  no  water." 

We  see,  therefore,  that  the  blood  is  called  "  the  blood 
of  thy  covenant,"  and  is  the  only  means  to  give  freedom 
to  the  soul.  Just  as  much  as  the  law  could  not  give  justi- 
fication without  sacrifices,  so  Christ  had  to  die  in  order 
to  give  us  redemption.  He  took  our  sins  upon  himself, 
according  to  the  Prophet. 

Isaiah  liii :  "Who  hath  believed  our  report.?  and  to 
whom  is  the  arm  of  the  Lord  revealed .? 

2.  "  For  he  shall  grow  up  before  him  as  a  tender  plant, 
and  as  a  root  out  of  a  dry  ground :  he  hath  no  form  nor 
comeliness ;  and  when  we  shall  see  him,  there  is  no 
beauty  that  we  should  desire  him. 

3.  "  He  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men  ;  a  man  of 
sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  grief:  and  we  hid  as  it  were 
our  faces  from  him  ;  he  was  despised,  and  we  esteemed 
him  not. 

4.  "  ^  Surely  he  hath  borne  our  griefs,  and  carried  our 
sorrows  ;  yet  we  did  esteem  him  stricken,  smitten  of  God, 
and  afflicted. 

5.  "  But  he  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions,  lie  was 
bruised  for  our  iniquities  :  the  chastisement  of  our  peace 
was  upon  him  ;  and  with  his  stripes  we  are  healed. 

6.  "All  we  like  sheep, have  gone  astray;  we  have 
turned  everyone  to  his  own  way;  and  the  Lord  hath 
laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all. 

7.  "He  was  oppressed,  and  he  was  afflicted,  yet  he 


290  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

Opened  not  his  mouth  :  he  is  brought  as  a  lamb  to  the 
slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep  before  her  shearers  is  dumb,  so 
he  openeth  not  his  mouth. 

8.  "  He  was  taken  from  prison  and  from  judgment  : 
and  who  shall  declare  his  generation  ?  for  he  was  cut  off 
out  of  the  land  of  the  living :  for  the  transgression  of 
my  people  was  he  stricken. 

9.  "And  he  made  his  grave  with  the  wicked,  and  with 
the  rich  in  his  death  ;  because  he  had  done  no  violence, 
neither  was  a?iy  deceit  in  his  mouth. 

10.  "•[Yet  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him  :  he  hath 
put  him  to  grief:  when  thou  shalt  make  his  soul  an  offer- 
ing for  sin,  he  shall  see  Ms  seed,  he  shall  prolong  his 
days,  and  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  shall  prosper  in  his 
hand. 

11.  "  He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  a/ui  shall 
be  satisfied  :  by  his  knowledge  shall  my  righteous  servant 
justify  many  :  for  he  shall  bear  their  iniquities. 

12.  "Therefore  will  I  divide  him  a  portion  with  the 
great,  and  he  shall  divide  the  spoil  with  the  strong;  be- 
cause he  hath  poured  out  his  soul  unto  death  :  and  he 
was  numbered  with  the  transgressors :  and  he  bare 
the  sin  of  many,  and  made  intercession  for  the  trans- 
gressors." 

This  chapter  is  not  only  the  most  striking  evidence  for 
Christ,  so  that  it  has  even  brought  con\Aiction  to  a  good 
many  Jews,  but  it  also  teaches  plainly  that  the  Lord 
has  laid  upon  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all.  As  much  as 
Christ's  love  replaces  the  law,  so  does  his  blood  replace 
the  sacrifices.  The  blood  of  the  sacrifices  was  only 
cleansing  temporarily,  and  had  to  be  renewed,  but  in 
Christ  the  work  is  finished,  his  blood  is  the  everlasting 
sacrifice.  He  is  the  everlasting  King,  and  High  Priest^ 
and  sacrifice,  according  to  the  passages  of  Scripture  I 
have  cited. 

There  is  no  necessity  of  saying  much  now  in  order  to 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  29 1 

show  that  ch.  liii.  Of  Isaiah  can  alhide  to  no  one  else  but 
to  Jesus.  The  chapter  of  itself  speaks  too  plainly.  The 
Jews  claimed  that  it  alluded  to  the  Jewish  nation.  Did 
the  Jewish  nation  bear  the  sins  of  many  ?  The  Prophet 
sa3^s  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  "  my  righteous  servant  shall 
justify  many  :  for  he  shall  bear  their  iniqiiitiesr  or  "  with 
his  stripes  we  are  healed. "  Can  this  be  applied  to  the  Jew- 
ish nation  ?  In  verse  8,  the  Prophet  says,  "  for  the  trans- 
gressions of  MY  people  "  {Mi;pesha  Ami)  this  makes  us 
understand  that  for  the  sins  of  Israel,  my  people,  he  was 
smitten.  Any  man  who  is  honest  with  himself  will  see 
that  this  passage  cannot  possibly  allude  to  the  Jewish 
nation. 

We  even  find  that  modern  opposers  of  Christianity, 
Jews  and  Gentiles,  have  abandoned  this  impossible 
perversion  and  claim  no  more  that  this  chapter  refers 
to  the  Israelitish  nation;  they  try  therefore  to  find  a 
person  in  the  Jewish  history  to  whom  they  could  apply 
this  prophecy.  Necessarily  they  make  great  blunders. 
For  surely,  there  is  no  one  but  Jesus  to  whom  this  chap- 
ter has  any  reference.  Some  say  that  this  chapter  alludes 
to  Jeremiah.  There  is  a  passage  in  the  Talmud  (Soteh) 
which  applies  it  even  to  Moses.  But  there  is  no  one  to 
be  found  upon  whom  "  the  Lord  has  laid  the  iniquity  of 
us  all."  Read  the  chapter  and  it  will  tell  you  of  itself 
to  whom  it  refers.* 


*  A  number  of  years  ago  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  Isaiah  could  not  have  pre- 
dicted anj'  one  else  in  this  chapter  but  Jesus.  My  reason  refused  to  accept  any 
other  interpretation.  This,  my  opinion,  I  communicated  to  a  Jewi..h  friend  who 
also  understood  the  Hebrew  language.  He  read  the  chapter  carefully,  and  I  showed 
to  him  that  common  sense  does  not  suffer  any  other  interpretation.  The  poor  man 
saw  that  I  was  right;  he  turned  pale  and  said,  "  What  shall  we  do  ?"     I  laughed  at 


292  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

Returning  to  the  doctrine  of  atonement,  we  find  that 
the  law  which  was  necessary  before  Christ  taught  us  that 
we  must  subject  our  lives  to  God,  and  to  this  subjection 
we  are  brought  afterwards  through  Christ.  We  also  had 
sacrifices  against  sins  ;  this  we  have  now  in  the  blood  of 
Christ. 

Reformers  say  that  this  doctrine  of  atonement  through 
Christ's  blood  is  a  perfect  outrage  on  common  sense.  It 
IS  proxy.  How  can  I  forgive  one  man's  sins  by  punish- 
ing another  man.^  Consequently  God  can  not  do 
it.  I  say  myself  that  this  doctrine  is  perfectly  against 
common  sense,  but  in  comparison  to  the  old  sacrifices, 
that  the  blood  of  an  animal  cleansed  from  sin,  this  ap- 
pears even  reasonable.  As  I  said,  the  belief  of  the  mind 
is  an  entirely  blind  belief.  Christ's  sacrifice  has  con- 
siderably more  sense  than  that  of  animals.  At  first  we 
see  Christ's  perfection  is  in  overpowering  the  world,  the 
flesh  We  can  see  that  Christ  had  to  die;  the  perfect 
Christ  had  to  move  and  to  win  us  to  God  by  his  innocent 
blood.  And  then  if  I  enter  the  spirit  of  the  crucified  Christ 
I  crucify  my  flesh  morally.  If  he  is  my  greatest  glory 
what  value  can  my  life  have  for  me  then  ?     The  sacrifice 


him,  and  thought  that  he  must  be  very  foolish  if  anything  could  disturb  him  con- 
cerning Christ.  If  Isaiah  teaches  Christianity,  continued  I,  then  I  do  not  believe 
him  either.  I  considered  Christianity  to  be  idolatry,  and  nothing  in  the  world  could 
move  me  to  believe.  Such  is  the  blindness  of  my  people.  While  I  was  a  Jewish 
minister  I  said  once  that  the  Christians  show  their  religion  predictad  in  Daniel,  but 
Daniel  is  an  imposition.  I  said  so  with  the  greatest  thoughtlessness.  I  believed  every- 
thing which  the  rationalists  wrote  without  examination.  But  after  I  was 
converted  it  was  like  a  blindness  falling  from  my  eyes.  I  at  once  saw  the  errors  of 
all  systems  in  perverting  Scripture.  I  knew  before  that  Christianity  is  taught  in 
the  Old  Testament,  but  this  did  not  move  me.  It  is  evident,  though,  that  a  kind 
providence  prepared  me  since  many  years. 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  293 

of  the  religion  of  the  heart  is  also  a  sacrifice  for  the  heart. 
It  means  to  seek  no  glory  but  in  the  spirit.  As  much 
as  Christ  himself  becomes  as  a  principle  to  his  followers, 
so  his  cross  becomes  a  state  of  life  to  the  one  who  ac- 
cepts it.  To  accept  the  cross  means  to  crucify  the  flesh 
in  the  will,  to  despise  it,  and  by  this  become  free.  Thus  it 
is  even  reasonable  in  comparison  with  the  old  sacrifices. 
Secondly,  why  must  it  be  reasonable  ?  If  a  judge  would 
punish  one  man  for  another  it  would  surely  be  an  out- 
rage, because  the  humane  judge  must  deal  according  to 
reason,  but  God  is  not  obliged  to  act  according  to  my 
reason.  His  reason  is  higher  than  ours.  It  is  enough 
for  us  to  know  that  blood  expiates  sin  according  to  His 
will. 

Besides  the  Bible,  the  Lord  teaches  even  in  history 
that  the  shedding  of  blood  is  necessary.  The  God  of 
love  shows  his  sword  in  history.  The  steps  rf  mankind 
leave  marks  of  blood  behind  them.  Before  a  nation 
makes  any  progress  it  is  baptized  with  blood.  Abraham 
worked  the  first  work  in  the  cause  of  freedom,  when  he 
went  to  rescue  his  nephew  Lot,  and  he  had  to  shed 
blood.  History  dips  her  pen  in  blood  to  write  her  an- 
nals, from  the  death  of  Abel  to  the  last  German  war. 
Why  does  not  Providence  let  mankind  progress  without 
blood  ?  Do  we  not  see  something  like  proxy  when  the 
young  men  die  in  the  battle-field  for  their  country.? 
God's  ways  are  incomprehensible,  even  without  the 
Bible. 

After  all  our  proofs  from  history  and  Scripture,  I  think 
I  may  close  this  book  and  express  my  hope  that  every 
man,  who  listens  to  the  voice  of  his  conscience  will   seek 

20 


294  MIND    AND    HEART    IN    RELIGION  ; 

to  find  the  true  atonement,  which  he  can  reach  by  follow- 
ing the  prescription  of  the  Jewish  Bible.  I  believe  that 
every  reader  who  is  honest  with  himself  will  admit  that 
Christianity  is  even  more  reasonable  than  Judaism.  Ev- 
ery man  can  see  that  the  Old  Testament  alone  is  a 
foundation  without  a  building.  Christians  have  good 
reason  to  be  astonished  at  the  Jews,  who  claim  to  believe 
the  Old  Testament  and  still  refuse  Christ,  who  is  so 
plainly  predicted  in  it.  The  fact  is,  that  very  few  know 
what  a  love  of  God  there  is  in  Christ,  and  hardly  any 
read  their  own  Bible.  Those  who  do  not  study  the  He- 
brew language  surely  do  not  read  it.  And  the  students 
accept  any  perversion,  since  they  know  not  Christ.  They 
think  that  Christianity  teaches  idolatry,  and  are  not 
even  to  be  moved  to  examine.  Especially  are  most 
Jewish  scholars  used  to  perversions  of  Scripture  since 
they  also  study  the  Talmud.  I  have  shown  a  few  exam- 
ples of  their  interpretations;  the  most  learned  Gentile 
unbelievers  have  no  better  interpretations.  During 
eighteen  centuries  greatly  learned  scholars  have  written 
on  both  sides.  There  is  a  large  literature  written  about 
the  Messianic  passages  of  the  Old  Testament.  x\nd  the 
Jews  believe  everything  which  is  written  without  exam- 
ining. Why  is  there  so  much  written  ?  It  is  not  because 
these  passages  are  dark.  There  are  really  very  dark, 
difficult  passages  in  Scripture,  but  the  Messianic  passages 
are  just  the  clearest,  smoothest  of  the  Old  Testament. 
The  Christian  finds  no  difficulty;  there  is  nothing 
obscure.  But  the  unbeliever  tries  to  make  them  obscure, 
because  he  will  not  believe.  Their  standpoint  is  taken 
to  oppose  Christ,  and  they  have  to  write  books  to  make 


OR,    JUDAISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  295 

out  some  intelligible  meaning,  when  they  refuse  the  clear, 
simple  interpretation.  I  have  used  the  common  English 
version  for  my  citations.  It  is  true  that  this  version  is 
very  imperfect  if  one  wants  to  do  justice  to  the  Hebrew 
language.  But  concerning  our  object  it  suffices.  No 
scholar  can  say  that  our  citations  are  against  the  gram- 
mar. It  is  impossible  to  translate  in  any  other  sense 
without  coming  in  conflict  with  the  language.  The 
great  Gesenius,  who  has  perhaps  not  found  his  rival  as  a 
Hebraist,  works  and  struggles  with  the  language  to  make 
out  some  other  meamng  to  Scripture,  but  all  in  vain.  If 
one  desires  to  do  the  will  of  God  he  will  soon  find  the 
plain  truth.  No  Jew  ever  refused  Christ  really  on 
account  of  the  Bible.  I  must  again  cite  the  words  of 
Christ :  "  My  doctrine  is  not  mine,  but  his  that  sent  me. 
If  any  man  will  do  his  will  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine, 
whether  it  be  of  God,  or  whether  I  speak  of  myself." 


